The Geffrye Museum in London has suffered a major setback to a proposed £18.9m redevelopment after Hackney Council refused planning permission.
The extension, designed by David Chipperfield Architects, features a two-storey extension to house a gallery, library and collections store, as well as a glazed walkway overlooking the period gardens and a new entrance opposite Hoxton station.
It includes a controversial plan to pull down the closed Marquis of Lansdowne pub at the rear of the site. The Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust opposed the move and launched a petition to save the pub.
At a planning meeting last month, councillors rejected the proposal.
Hackney Council said the merits of the new building did not justify the loss of the historic public house. It also expressed concerns that the new structure could cause harm to the Grade-I listed museum building.
David Dewing, director of the Geffrye Museum, said: “We are bitterly disappointed that Hackney Council has rejected our planning application. We passionately believe that our proposed scheme would have provided great opportunities and benefits to the local community, creating a much stronger and better museum, attracting more visitors and generating more investment into the borough.
“The decision by the planning committee denies the essential progress that keeps great cities vibrant and dynamic.”
He added that the Geffrye hoped to appeal the council’s decision. The project, which has already taken four years and cost £1m, was scheduled for completion in 2016.
The Heritage Lottery Fund approved initial support of £10.9m for the development in April 2011. The Geffrye was due to submit a second-round application later this year.
The author of the Spitalfields Life blog, who has campaigned to save the Marquis of Lansdowne, attended the planning committee meeting.
A post on the blog said: “Yesterday, I asked how it could be that a museum which exists to protect our heritage wants to use public funds to destroy a historic building.
“The jaw-dropping irony of this situation was not lost upon Hackney Council’s planning committee.”
The extension, designed by David Chipperfield Architects, features a two-storey extension to house a gallery, library and collections store, as well as a glazed walkway overlooking the period gardens and a new entrance opposite Hoxton station.
It includes a controversial plan to pull down the closed Marquis of Lansdowne pub at the rear of the site. The Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust opposed the move and launched a petition to save the pub.
At a planning meeting last month, councillors rejected the proposal.
Hackney Council said the merits of the new building did not justify the loss of the historic public house. It also expressed concerns that the new structure could cause harm to the Grade-I listed museum building.
David Dewing, director of the Geffrye Museum, said: “We are bitterly disappointed that Hackney Council has rejected our planning application. We passionately believe that our proposed scheme would have provided great opportunities and benefits to the local community, creating a much stronger and better museum, attracting more visitors and generating more investment into the borough.
“The decision by the planning committee denies the essential progress that keeps great cities vibrant and dynamic.”
He added that the Geffrye hoped to appeal the council’s decision. The project, which has already taken four years and cost £1m, was scheduled for completion in 2016.
The Heritage Lottery Fund approved initial support of £10.9m for the development in April 2011. The Geffrye was due to submit a second-round application later this year.
The author of the Spitalfields Life blog, who has campaigned to save the Marquis of Lansdowne, attended the planning committee meeting.
A post on the blog said: “Yesterday, I asked how it could be that a museum which exists to protect our heritage wants to use public funds to destroy a historic building.
“The jaw-dropping irony of this situation was not lost upon Hackney Council’s planning committee.”
