Save our Clandon
This is your chance to make a difference to the future of Clandon Park
After the 2015 fire, the National Trust stated
“With the help of today’s artists and craftspeople, we can reconstruct these beautiful ceilings to warmly welcome visitors back to Clandon Park.”
The right course remains restoring the magnificent state rooms. Britain’s top craft practitioners are ready to take on this prestigious project, training apprentices to pass on their skills.
Yet, the National Trust has now submitted a planning proposal that leaves Clandon’s interior a ruin with fire-blackened bricks, unsympathetic modern walkways, and intrusive kiosks and a lift shaft, leaving the fine baroque interiors unrestored. The Trust claims the bare brick walls are “fascinating,” but the significance of the house was in its magnificent stucco interiors. They dismiss restoration as “plastic pastiche,” disregarding the exceptional work of freehand plaster modellers who restored Uppark after the 1987 fire.
This damaging scheme makes no sense and it must be stopped.
You can make a difference by taking part in the Guildford Borough Council's consultation.
Planning Application Consultation
The deadline to submit your comments is 20 December 2024.
Two Applications
There are two planning applications for the same works, so please be sure to submit two sets of comments.
24/P/01681 (Planning Permission)
24/P/01682 (Listed Building Consent)
You can use the same points for both but make sure to submit them separately.
Important information
Be sure to use your own words. The planning authority will ignore mass-produced objections. However, do feel free to quote from the planning application. The more objections are made, the more likely we are to stop the proposal, so please encourage friends and family who have concerns to write in, and send your objections individually, not as a couple.
1. The historically and aesthetically significant interiors need to be reinstated
The fire of 2015 caused substantial damage on Clandon Park, and the National Trust’s refusal to restore its interiors only compounds this harm. Reinstating the original state rooms with authentic materials would restore the building’s purpose and secure its long-term future. Faithful restoration would honour the house’s historical significance and ensure it remains a meaningful visitor attraction.
Steps to comment
Go to the Guildford Borough Council site and register:
https://www.guildford.gov.uk/commentonaplanningapplication
Find the Applications
https://publicaccess.guildford.gov.uk/online-applications
Search for ‘Clandon Park’ or use these references:
Listed Building Consent: 24/P/01682
Planning Permission: 24/P/01681
Submit Comments
Go to ‘Comment on a Planning Proposal’ and write your comments for each reference.
Points to make
4. Intrusive modern additions
Unsympathetic proposed interventions such as new walkways, lifts, and staircases will disrupt the layout of this important house and erode its significance.
7. Damage to the roofline
Proposed additions, including terraces, metal railings, bulky roof access pavilions and a lift overrun, will irreparably harm Clandon’s silhouette and skyline. These structures will intrude on views of the house from key vantage points, including the Grotto, Maori Meeting House, and Ionic Temple.
2. Ruins won’t draw crowds
The proposal to keep Clandon Park as a managed ruin undermines its long-term viability. Visitors are unlikely to return repeatedly to see smoke-blackened walls and small sections of plaster. Unlike attractions such as Witley Court, the site lacks extensive gardens or other enduring draws. The novelty of a fire-damaged interior will fade, jeopardising its future.
5. Restoration is achievable
The National Trust has rejected the possibility of restoring the interiors of the building, claiming that reinstating the original interiors is so difficult as to be impossible and not worth attempting.
Despite the National Trust’s claims, reconstructing Clandon’s interiors is not only possible but also desirable. Original plaster fragments and detailed photographs provide the basis for accurate restoration. Expert plasterers and stucco artists have said that they can create high-quality reconstructions and use the project as an opportunity to train apprentices.
There are many outstanding examples of authentic restoration elsewhere in Britain and many parts of Europe and Asia. There were people who said that Notre Dame could not be restored after the catastrophic fire five years ago, but the cathedral has now reopened, more beautiful than ever.
3. Commerce over conservation
The proposal prioritises commercial uses such as events, exhibitions, and dining over conservation. These plans conflict with the National Trust’s charitable purpose to promote the permanent preservation for the benefit of the Nation's buildings of beauty and historic interest.
6. Inappropriate display space
The artworks and artefacts which are to be displayed inside the building require a carefully controlled environment, and the cavernous burnt-out space is not suitable for this. Achieving this will require intrusive partitions and cases, which will detract from the building’s historic character and compromise its original design.
8. Noise and loss of tranquillity
The installation of a bank of air source heat pumps and extractor fans in the garden will generate significant noise, disrupting the tranquillity of the Grade II grounds and conservation area. Their enclosure will create a large eyesore at the approach to the house on the North side. The extractor fans in the basement will add to the noise. The noise from the pumps and fans will also ruin the tranquillity of the grade II Registered Park and Garden and West Clandon Conservation Area. (The natural place for the heat pumps would have been on the roof, if there were not a catering outlet.)
Please consider donating to our crowdfunder to help us engage professionals to fight against this application.
We really appreciate your help. Thank you.
Read more about Clandon here: