Former hospital to become wedding venue despite neighbours’ objections
A Grade II Listed former mansion turned hospital is now set to become a wedding venue – despite dozens of objection letters to the plans.
Standon Hall, built in the early 20th century, was originally a family home before becoming an orthopaedic hospital in the 1920s. Hospital patients were cared for there for almost 60 years, before the hall became a residential care home in the 1980s, but the site has been vacant since 2016.
There were plans to convert the hall near Eccleshall into 19 apartments and outbuildings into seven new homes, but planning permission was refused in 2018.
On Wednesday the latest proposals for the main hall – change of use to an events venue and a separate house – were given the green light by Stafford Borough Council’s planning committee after being recommended for approval.
A design and access statement submitted as part of the application said: “It is the long term ambition of the project to restore the entire hall back to a large residential dwelling while also providing the facility to host events and weddings. The project will be completed in phases starting with the ground floor, with the intention of refurbishing the upper levels with the income generated from the event and wedding hosting.
“The proposed ground floor contains a reception room, a dining room and ceremony rooms. It is envisaged that the rooms will also double as event hosting rooms.
“A bar and dining area is proposed adjacent to the southern terrace, it is envisaged that access from the bar to the terrace could be formed at a later date and will be subject to a future listed building application. It is proposed that the north wing of the house contains kitchen area with associated storage and preparation areas, office and admin areas and further wc accommodation.
“The first floor of the building contains 10 bedrooms, two of which forming a bridal suite with adjoining beauty rooms with associated bathrooms and en-suites along with some further office accommodation and service rooms including linen and storage rooms.
“The second floor contains a further 13 bedrooms (23 bedrooms in total) and associated bathrooms. The floor also contains a modest living room and a separate kitchen dining room to enable the building to be used as a private residence while events and weddings are ongoing.
“The change of use application seeks to find an alternative viable use for the building, ensuring that visitors to the hall will continue to be able to enjoy the views to and from the building in the future.”
The council received 56 representations in support of the plans, including 44 sent from addresses outside of the borough.
But not everyone has welcomed the plans.
Standon Parish Council objected for reasons including more noise in the quiet rural location – particularly in the early morning. There were also concerns about extra traffic on roads between the A519 and the venue, which were described as winding, with blind bends, no footpaths, an entrance to a school, a single access bridge over the railway and a concealed crossroads “hazardous to local users”.
There were also 66 letters and emails sent to the council from 22 addresses objecting to the proposals.
A Maer Lane resident said: “In the open spaces of the area, noises big and small carry a long way. For example we can hear the children playing at Standon Bowers Education Centre which is approx a mile away from our house.
“The lane is single file and we often have to pull over for on coming traffic. If the hall is turned into a wedding venue the traffic increase would be significant and the roads are not made for large amounts of traffic.
“We often walk and this would not be possible on busy days at the hall as it would be too dangerous. There are no pavements. There is also a lot of horse riders and cyclists that use the roads and we ensure our speed is kept to a minimum to accommodate this.”
Another Maer Lane resident said: ” We do recognise the applicant’s positive intentions to revive and restore the building, and to support the local community and economy. However, as we are close neighbours to the hall, we have significant concerns.
“The hall was originally a single residence when constructed, and overall, we feel that a residential use would be more appropriate for the building.
“Our most pressing concern is about breakout of noise during events, and the report identifies the fact that a noise limiter set at 85dBA would be advised.
Typical electric function bands and DJs operate in the 95-115dBA range; 85dBA would represent sound generated by an acoustic act, or possibly a string quartet.
“We feel that wedding parties may be expecting much louder entertainment, and are concerned that this will result in significant impact on neighbours.”
