A heritage assessment report commssioned on behalf of the Wye River Café scheme says the proposed two-storey development would improve the unused riverbank site, yards downstream of the 953-year-old ancient monument, next to the car park.
Thomas Evans Ltd wants to launch a cruise business there to recreate the Wye Tour on the tidal river up to Tintern Abbey, once undertaken by the likes of landscape painter JMW Turner and poets Wordsworth and Coleridge
Several residents have objected, along with the Forest of Dean district and Chepstow town councils, as they claim it would spoil the view of Britain’s oldest stone-built castle - constructed by the Normans a year after the Battle of Hastings in 1067.
But conservation expert Edward Holland, in a report on behalf of the business to Monmouthshire planners, said: “If it were implemented, Chepstow Castle would remain predominant in all views throughout the surrounding area and its significance would be unaffected.”
He said there would be “no negative impact on the view” from the car park, while from the 203-year-old Old Wye Bridge, it would be “sufficiently separate and at a significantly lower level to avoid detracting from the appreciation of the castle’s dominance.”
From directly across the river, “the view of the castle would still dominate, and the views here are either relatively screened or elevated or are from private property,” he added, while the new building would create “a fine new view of the listed bridge for those in the café or waiting for a boat.”
On the development site, he added: “There may have been a wharf here in medieval times, but no specific archaeological evidence has been identified to date.
“The development as proposed will have no impact on the historical values for which Chepstow Castle and its setting are known.
“The opportunity to recreate the Wye Valley picturesque boat trips arguably enhances the qualities of the historic landscape rather than detracts from it.
“The castle and its setting have been painted and photographed and written about by many over the last two centuries including by the most famous artists such as JMW Turner and the Wye Valley landscape made famous by poets such as William Wordsworth.
“The opportunity that this building provides to recreate the Wye Tour and for people to regain an appreciation of the beauty of the river and enormity of the castle from the water is of great aesthetic value.
“It echoes the Picturesque movement and the great paintings and writings that have been created from the River Wye in the 18th and 19th centuries.
“In addition, aesthetically, removal of the rough ground and metal fencing would enhance the site.”
The proposal for the café and cruise terminal occupies the same building footprint as a plan passed in 2007 which has since lapsed, but is of two storeys and has a simpler pitched roof.
Monmouthsire planners have recived more than 15 objections to the scheme from residents, including from Roy Pearse, who lives across the river from the castle.
He claimed that people living in Elmdale’s “view of the river bank and castle will be changed for ever” by a two-storey cafe building.
“There are sufficent cafés in Chepstow without building another in one of the most beautiful parts of the town,” he told planners. “Boat trips up the Wye might be in step with sustainable commercial development. However an extra cafe in such a sensitive context is neither necessary nor advisable.”
Welsh monuments group CADW, who oversee the castle, will be considering Mr Holland’s heritage assesment before commenting to planners.
Comments
This article has no comments yet. Be the first to leave a comment.