Over the past couple of months that we’ve been dealing with the health suite fiasco, Richmond Council have repeatedly stated that Pools on the Park is a challenging building due to it being Grade II listed.
Pools on the Park opened in 1966 and is considered to be one of the finest surviving examples of public swimming pools from that period. In 1967 it was awarded a Civic Trust Award for its architecture and in 1996, it was listed as Grade II by English Heritage (now Historic England) as a building of national architectural and historic importance.
According to the The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, any alterations to Grade II listed building require planning permission from the local planning authority, which is of course Richmond Council itself.
Carrying out unauthorised works to a listed building is a criminal offence.
As you’ll be aware, in July 2022, the Council decided to remove the jacuzzi, sauna and steam room equipment and strip the room back to bare floor and walls.
So you can imagine we were gobsmacked to recently discover that the council had NEVER actually applied (to itself) for planning permission to do these alterations as they are required to do by law. You can view all the Pools in the Park planning applications by searching for postcode TW9 2SF here.
This is quite extraordinary and is just another example of the council not adhering to rules for the ongoing health suite saga.
Of course, the inconvenient downside with planning applications is that it gives interested parties an opportunity to file objections. It also requires the applicant to justify why they are proposing the alterations. 18 months later, we are still none the wiser on why the council’s “further investigation works” required a full strip out of the room.
Who authorised this work and why was Grade II planning protocol not followed?
We have now filed a breach of planning control complaint against Richmond Council so it can investigate… itself. Watch this space.