Isle of Wight Norris Castle plans under fire from heritage body

SAVE Britain’s Heritage has joined the Gardens Trust and English Heritage in asking the Isle of Wight Council to turn down plans for historic Norris Castle in East Cowes.

SAVE says the plans, would irreparably damage one of Britain’s remarkable ensembles of listed buildings and protected parkland running down to the sea.

 The proposals, which were unveiled earlier this year, would turn the derelict castle into a year-round heritage and natural environment-led destination.

The castle would be transformed into a 17-suite hotel with a further 57 rooms built into the grounds with the plans designed to remove the landslip risk to the castle.

Farm buildings would be restored and converted into a spa and wellness centre, with further repairs made throughout the estate.

Read more: Town council's barbed comments about Norris Castle plan.

SAVE calls it inappropriate and overscaled development and has written urgently to Isle of Wight Council arguing that the plans should be thrown out on the grounds that the applicant has included insufficient detail so that it would be impossible to determine such a major application.

It points out what it calls the “alarming” lack of accurate visual representations, CGIs or scale drawings.

Here's a teaser video of when the County Press gained exclusive access to the castle.

SAVE's letter says: “The applications seek permission for substantial new development within one of the nation’s most historically important estates, involving major alterations to the fabric and setting of three grade I-listed heritage assets, all of which are of exceptional individual and collective importance.

Norris Castle, Christopher Ison, Alamu.

"Given that this is a hybrid planning application for major development, it is therefore alarming that the detailed elements of the proposals are not accompanied with commensurately detailed plans and assessment of the existing buildings and landscape, and the substantial alterations proposed for them.”

Read more: What English Heritage said in its objections.

Read more: Developers slam English Heritage objections to scheme.

Henrietta Billings, director of SAVE Britain’s Heritage, said: “This is one of the nation’s most important ensembles of historic buildings and landscape, reflected in the highest possible listing protection, yet it is hard to see the impact of the proposals with such a startling lack of detail. The council has a duty to throw them out in their current form.” 

The architectural historian John Martin Robinson, author of a major study on the Wyatt family of architects, said: “These proposals are outrageous and totally unsuitable for this prize example of the Regency Castle style.”