Dear Cllr Stephanos Ioannou,
Case Reference: 101000423379
I refer to your recent email regarding the scaffolding that has been erected to the frontage of Durants School and your rejection of our initial response.
Having reviewed this response and the case, I can confirm that the wall in question relates to Southgate House (now owned by the Southgate Mosque) rather than Durants School. Scaffolding currently supports a 17 metre section of the wall given concerns around its structural instability: a number of cracks are evident in the brickwork and rendered internal face of the wall. The wall itself is listed as a curtilage structure of the Mansion House.
The scaffolding is therefore considered necessary to support this structure and in such capacity, planning permission is not required for the scaffolding for whatever duration it is required.
An application for listed building consent in respect of proposed remedial works to the boundary wall has been approved on 1st March 2023. However, the applicant for this application has now sold the land in question and we await to see how the new owner intends to progress with the restoration works.
At this point, the scaffolding renders the boundary wall safe and there is no breach of planning control. We will however, be engaging with the new owner as part of our discussions regarding the future of the wider site.
