Dorking Halls to gain ‘eyesore’ industrial equipment as decarbonising plans agreed
An “eyesore” will welcome visitors to Dorking Halls after planners green lit new industrial equipment on its Art Deco roof.
The existing air handling units, originally installed in 1997, are reaching the end of their life and will now be replaced.
In their place will be new mechanical and electrical service equipment that will help decarbonise the building.
The work will allow the site to remain a key cultural hub for the town.
How it will look proved the biggest bone of contention to Mole Valley District Council’s development committee with the county heritage officer dubbing the designs as “something of an eyesore”.
The plans only got approval after the Wednesday, January 7, meeting heard the new systems would sustain the commercial viability of Dorking Halls – which was costing the council a small fortune every year in energy bills alone.
Acknowledging the harm they said that its real heritage value lay in its ability to deliver high profile acts to the town rather than its outstanding beauty.
The work is part of the huge refurbishment of the site that will see Dorking Halls close again for six months from April to modernise the building.
Costs have spiralled with a further £3.34m approved last September on top of the originally agreed £11.2m.
In a report presented to the committee, Surrey County Council’s heritage officer expressed concerns over the new ducts, saying they “would have quite a severe impact on the Art Deco character” of the building’s façade.
Adding: “The revised scheme is an improvement, but nonetheless will still result in quite large units being prominently sited on the building.”
Councillor Stephen Cooksey (Liberal Democrat: Dorking South) said he was broadly in favour of the project but questioned the finished design.
He said: “I am really unsure about how this is going to look when it’s completed.
“It does concern me that the heritage officer is saying that there are heritage problems which will affect the way in which the building will look.”
Cllr Andy Smith (Independent: Ashtead Lanes & Common) said: “This is clearly going to be a very finely balanced decision and it’s not immediately clear that the benefits will outweigh the harm.”
Cllr Hunt (Independent: Ashtead Lanes & Common) added:” I can’t remember a proposal described as an eyesore before in any report that I can remember.
“It’s sad because we all want the environmental benefits but the design is just so ‘stuck upon.”