Can any reader explain this? Not the cat …
The wall-mounted rail, pulley, raised doors, blocks and curved ironwork suggest an arrangement for moving heavy items (barrels?) in or out of the 19th-century building at the western end of Dublin Street Lane South.
When they were last used – and for what kind of business – we don’t know. But in any case, their days may be numbered.
At 19 Dublin Street, Stone Acre Projects Ltd propose: ‘Alteration and conversion of lower three storeys of existing B listed townhouse to form 3 new dwellings. New 4 storey mews development at rear of townhouse to form 3 further dwellings and outdoor terrace areas for townhouse dwellings’ (Refs 16/05981/FUL, 16/05982/CON, 16/05983/LBC).
Creating the mews dwellings would entail demolishing the interesting but undistinguished adjoining structure on the lane, and building on what the developer describes as an ‘unsympathetic gap site’ where the small car park is now.
It would also involve some radical internal rearrangement of what is currently a law firm and file-storage facility.
‘The proposals respect the form and composition of adjacent buildings and utilize high quality materials in keeping with the local context to enhance the site and the lane in general,’ reads the developer’s Design and Access Statement.
However, alarm bells are already ringing locally. One neighbour contacted us yesterday to say the new, modern frontage would spoil an area which ‘always attracts tourists and photographers’, and the development as a whole would would place additional strain on Dublin Street parking.
If you have a view, and would like to express it to the Council, you can do so here. Remember to quote the reference numbers.
In the meantime, enjoy ‘Riders’, an enigmatic piece of stencilled street art which graced the site in 2011.
