New gallery for Old Masters approved at Herefordshire estate

In the grounds of the grade II* listed Hellens Manor near the village of Much Marcle between Ledbury and Ross-on-Wye, the modern curved single-storey gallery will house paintings from Hellens’ collection including by van Dyck, Hogarth, Goya and Gainsborough.

But Herefordshire Council’s senior landscape officer Mandy Neill said that even a revised landscape scheme “will not protect the area’s character in this important landscape”.

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“It would be preferable if the building is located wholly within the existing garden” of the house, which would “avoid negative impacts on the open countryside”, she wrote.

The council’s public rights of way manager, backed by the Ramblers’ Association, said work should not begin until a legal diversion order on a footpath across the site is confirmed.

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And principal building conservation officer Debra Lewis said the plan would “fail to preserve the setting” of a nearby group of listed buildings – which the public benefits of the scheme “would not outweigh”.

Notwithstanding these comments, planning officer Heather Carlisle was persuaded by the application’s heritage statements and the view of government agency Historic England, which did not object.

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The gallery would bring more visitors and so more spending locally, would help maintain Hellens, and would provide a social benefit , which together outweighed the objections, she concluded.

The issue of the obstructed public footpath was not a reason for refusing the application, “as there are appropriate measures through different legislation to resolve this dispute”, she added.

Full planning permission for the gallery was granted.