Bushmills Inn granted approval for essential work

The council has granted listed building consent for construction of a replacement external fire escape staircase and all associated site works.

The existing staircase is located in a yard to the north side close to the frontage of the building.

It is finished in timber with metal supports.

According to the Design and Access Statement, prepared by Todd Architects on behalf of Bushmills Hotels, the staircase is “in poor condition and needs replaced urgently from a health and safety perspective”.

The proposals for the replacement staircase “have been developed to remain subservient” to the listed building.

The statement continues: “The proposed works include replacing the existing timber stair with a more durable ‘like for like’ metal replacement.

“The existing stair is hung/cantilevered off the existing gable. The new proposed replacement stair is separated from the existing listed building with a new self-supporting structure and not bearing on the existing gable which hopefully will be considered an improvement and a more sympathetic approach for the existing listed building context.”

The statement adds that “all existing steelwork is to be removed from the solid wall and any bedded metal within the wall shall be removed”. Following this, the wall “should be repaired like for like with no cementitious products and vapour open paints”.

HED Historic Buildings has been consulted on the initial design proposals and comments have been received and incorporated into the proposals.

The Development Management Officer Report concludes: “The proposed staircase would not demonstrably impact neighbouring properties and due to the similarity with the existing stair would not have significant visual impact.

“HED Historic Buildings and the council’s conservation section have accepted the proposed works with regard to the listed status of the building and the conservation area setting.”