®Planning appeal decision
Royal Castle Hotel, 2 New Chester Road, BIRKENHEAD, CH41 9AY
demolition of existing hotel and construction of new hotel building and associated parking
- Authority
- Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- leisure-sport · Minor retail and services
- Inspector
- Morgan R
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area, having particular regard to the host building as a non-designated heritage asset, and the settings of the Grade II listed Cattle Lairages and Drinking Fountain
What decided it
The permanent loss of a non-designated heritage asset and diminishment of the setting of listed buildings, combined with insufficient evidence that demolition was the only viable option and uncertainty about the replacement design, meant the public benefits could not outweigh the heritage harm.
Framework references: 197, 202, 203, 204
Plan policies cited: Policy CH1 of the Wirral Unitary Development Plan 2000
The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.