Written question WQ84898
- Asked by
- Rhys ab OwenPlaid
- To be answered by
- Minister for Economy
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 6 days
Question
Will the Minister explain why the Welsh Government believes that Cowbridge Intermediate School for Girls is not "a building that demonstrates architectural and historic qualities of national significance" as set out in the national listing criteria?
Answer
Answered by Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, and Chief Whip
To be listed a building must be of special architectural or historic interest at the national level. Unfortunately, the former school no longer survives as built. Its original form has been compromised by large-scale alterations in 1909 and the more recent insertion of UPVC windows was very damaging to its surviving architectural character. This may seem like a minor incident but the impact on the architectural interest is very serious and undermines any claim to definite quality and character. The better preserved a building is architecturally, the better it is able to illustrate its historic interest.
The fact that the building does not survive as built, and that its final form has been compromised by alteration undermines any case for listing against the criteria of architectural interest, historic interest, or historical association.