Plans to replace vandalised park lodge refused
Stockton CouncilPlans to knock down a vandalised lodge and replace it with a partial replica of itself have been refused by councillors.
Stockton Council's planning committee decided the money would be better spent restoring the South Lodge, near Preston Park Museum in Stockton, after it was "left to rot and ruin".
After a narrow vote, councillors rejected the authority's plan to demolish the condemned lodge and build a piece of public art.
Planning officers said the building was of "low architectural importance".
The lodge was built between 1919 and 1939 to replace an earlier building and was used as a home until 2019, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
It is currently unused and boarded up.
The proposed structure would have consisted of three arch-like alloy steel structures with boards showing the history of the area.
Stockton CouncilPlanning officers recommended approving the scheme but Councillor John Coulson called the proposed structure "monstrous".
Councillor Tony Riordan said: "I'm concerned that, once we're allowed to get rid of an asset, it's gone, it doesn't come back.
"Would that money not be better spent preserving what is a building in curtilage of a heritage asset."
Councillor Lynn Hall told the committee: "We've left it to rot and ruin really."
"I don't think we've looked at any alternatives.
"Once that lodge goes, it's gone forever. We should be trying to keep it at all costs."
Planning services manager Simon Grundy said the lodge was considered of "low architectural importance" and only of historical significance because of its ties to the Grade II Preston Hall.
He said its loss would be "marginally outweighed by the public benefits" of the sculpture scheme.
Councillors voted seven to six to refuse the plan.