Balls Park, Hertford

City & Country Group acquired Balls Park, Hertford in 2001. The historic buildings on the site date back to the mid 17th Century and  comprise the Grade I Listed Mansion House, the Grade I Listed West Wing which designed by Robert Lorimer (the Scottish Lutyens) in 1924, the Coach House and the 1902 Stables. All set within a Grade II registered historic park and garden.

In the Adopted Local Plan it was recognised that enabling development would be required to fund the repair and conservation of the very poorly maintained listed buildings.  It did however state that the Grade I Listed Mansion House was not to be converted for residential use as it was believed that a commercial use would be more sympathetic and less intrusive to the building’s character.

In 2003, planning permission was granted for a comprehensive redevelopment of this highly sensitive site according to English Heritage Enabling Development Guidelines that allowed the minimum new build possible to ensure the repair of the listed buildings and park.  The scheme included commercial use for the listed buildings, the demolition of unsightly 1960’s college buildings and the development of 132 new homes that were sensitively designed to respect the setting and context of the listed buildings and the historic park.

It became clear that the consented scheme for commercial use in the listed buildings rather than protecting these historic assets was in fact going to have a detrimental impact on the fabric of the buildings. City & Country Group therefore worked very closely with the planning officers, conservation officers and English Heritage to consider all the possible alternatives including hotel use, small serviced offices and large ‘houses’ designed around the original staircases.  Eventually it was concluded by English Heritage that ‘the optimum viable use’ for this important Carolean country house was into residential apartments.  Planning permission was granted last year and building work is now well underway.

The approach adopted by City & Country Group with regard to the Grade I Listed Buildings was to safeguard and improve their setting, principal elevations and spaces ensuring that the principal rooms remained intact and were fully restored following years of institutional degradation.  Proposed alterations to the Grade I buildings were kept to a minimum and the entire scheme was considered in intricate detail, in order that the full impact could be assessed at the outset.  This is the approach that will be adopted at King Edward VII to ensure that these important historic assets are preserved in a sympathetic and yet viable manner.