The Geffrye Museum in London has suffered a major setback to a proposed £18.9m redevelopment after Hackney Council refused planning permission.
The proposed extension, designed by David Chipperfield Architects, included 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 directly opposite Hoxton Station.
It also included 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 yesterday 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 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, better museum, attracting more visitors and generating more investment into the borough.
"The decision by the planning committee denies the essential progress which keeps great cities vibrant and dynamic.”
He told Museums Journal 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 funding 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 can it be that a museum which exists to protect our heritage wants to use public funds to destroy an historic building?’
"The jaw-dropping irony of this situation was not lost upon the members of Hackney Council planning committee who were unconvinced by the Geffrye Museum’s scheme involving the demolition of the Marquis of Lansdowne.”
The proposed extension, designed by David Chipperfield Architects, included 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 directly opposite Hoxton Station.
It also included 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 yesterday 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 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, better museum, attracting more visitors and generating more investment into the borough.
"The decision by the planning committee denies the essential progress which keeps great cities vibrant and dynamic.”
He told Museums Journal 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 funding 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 can it be that a museum which exists to protect our heritage wants to use public funds to destroy an historic building?’
"The jaw-dropping irony of this situation was not lost upon the members of Hackney Council planning committee who were unconvinced by the Geffrye Museum’s scheme involving the demolition of the Marquis of Lansdowne.”
