Her Majesty's Prison Usk is a grade II* listed building, constructed in 1841 and extended in 1868. Whilst the fabric of the building remains largely untouched since that extension in the Victorian era, the Ministry of Justice has a concern over the safety of the original balustrades, questioning whether they are sufficient for a modern prison environment.
As such, an application was made to refurbish these balustrades but also to encase them in a secondary system that would strengthen them and increase load capacity. In doing so, the Ministry of Justice planned on fixing past repairs that were unsympathetic to the historical nature of the balustrades. However, this application went to appeal following rejection from Monmouthshire County Council.
Planning Inspector A Thickett agreed with the appellant's assessment that the balustrades were of historic value, especially considering similar style balustrades in Wales have been replaced. The inspector also welcomed the plans to put-right previous repairs. However, using a secondary system would require the drilling of some holes into the original balustrade which might not be easily concealed should the secondary system ever be removed. Furthermore, the secondary system would be "heavy and brutal" compared with the "light, airy feel" that the wings currently had with the original balustrades.
Whilst acknowledging that safety is important, the inspector noticed that there was no evidence that capacity of the balustrades had been exceeded in the last 160 years, and remained unconvinced that the current proposal was the only solution to the problem, especially when it would cause unacceptable harm to the grade II* listed building.
On balance, the inspector decided that the proposals did not have "proper regard for the age of MHP Usk or its architectural or historic significance" and therefore dismissed the appeal.
