Hawick's "Parkgate": The Sequel.

EXCLUSIVE by EWAN LAMB

A further attempt to have the Victorian gates at the entrance to a former country estate near Hawick deprived of their 'listed' designation is being strenuously resisted by Historic Environment Scotland amid continuing disagreements about their status among neighbours at Linden Park.

Today's deadline for written submissions to planning reporter Christian Leigh coincided with the publication of a comprehensive response from HES rebutting the arguments of appellant Tom West, who lives in a bungalow on the site of the former Linden Park House.

As we reported in March, a planning appeal to have 'C' listed status removed from the gates and gate piers at Linden Park with a view to having the architectural feature moved on road safety grounds had been thrown out by a Scottish Government planning reporter. 

That reporter, Stuart West concluded: "I am satisfied that a full and thorough assessment of the subjects’ architectural and historic interest has been undertaken as part of the designation process and I agree with Historic Environment Scotland’s conclusions."

HES decided the gates required special protection following an approach from Hawick Archaeological Society in 2020.

But in his appeal statement, Tom West claims: "Firstly, that the decision (by HES) is based upon inaccurate and misleading information. Secondly that the Listing Process followed for the Linden Park gates is flawed and not in accordance with the Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019) document or with recognised good management standards. Thirdly that in this case Historic Environment Scotland do not have the legal power to list the gates."

However, the newly published response from HES seeks to demolish Mr West's case as well as the objections of other interested parties.

HES maintains: "It is our view that the Linden Park Gates are of special architectural or historic interest.

"The first reason put forward (by the appellant) is that our decision was based on inaccurate and misleading information related to the dating of the gates and the lack of definite attribution of the architect. The information provided by the appellant gives further detail about the designer, manufacturer, and installation of the gates. However, this information is not new and does not put into question the special architectural or interest of the structures.

The two other reasons against listing relate to the listing process followed by Historic Environment Scotland and the powers which Historic Environment Scotland has to list. As these two reasons do not relate to whether the site is of special architectural or historic interest, we will not be taking these into account in detail in our response to the Statement of Appeal but have provided some observations for clarification purposes."

Setting out its reasons for listing the gates, HES states: "These reasons relate primarily to the building’s design, setting, age and rarity, and social historical interest. Design - They are bespoke, decorative gate piers and gates built as part of a high quality design scheme for a small country house estate.

"Setting - They are largely unaltered and retain their immediate, later 19th century setting. Age and rarity - The organic, floriate Arts and Crafts design of the gates is an early example of this style of ironwork in Scotland. They are an early example of a gateway designed with electric lighting. Social historical interest - The gates help inform our understanding of a small country house estate with an association with the textile industry."

And the written response adds: "The Appellant has questioned the information we have considered to arrive at our decision to list the gates; but other than providing evidence of dating and probable authorship, they have not specifically discounted other factors relating to the special interest of the structure in their appeal statement.

"This information does not put into question the special interest of the gates. Rather, the additional information helps us to confirm the available evidence about the estate we have already reviewed and further reinforces the fact that the gates are an early example of electrification for domestic use on a country estate. The novelty of the electrification led to several contemporary newspaper reports."

HES concludes: Our view is that the appellant’s observations have not cast doubt on the special architectural or historic interest of Linden Park Gates but has referred to issues unrelated to the grounds for appeal.