Project Name: Polex Hotel, Dudley Road, Manchester

Type of Project: Historic Appraisal of the Building, Conservation Area Appraisal,  PPG15 Justification Statement

Date: October 2006

Architect: Hodder Associates Architects and Designers

Special Interest:  The Polex Hotel was built in the early 1900s, geographically centred in the Whalley Range Conservation Area, which is characterised by an area of flat land, purchased in 1832 by prominent banker, Samuel Brooks. Whalley Range was one of the first suburbs, creating what Samuel Brooks termed "a desirable estate for gentlemen and their families" where people could escape the increasing congestion in the growing industrial city. Roads were laid out and building plots were sold with certain conditions to ensure that development was appropriate to Samuel Brooks's vision. Polex Hotel remains surrounded by an area of large houses, interspersed with institutional buildings on relatively narrow tree-lined avenues. The site on which the Polex Hotel now stands originally contained one single property named “Carlton Lodge”.

Scope of Professional Services:
            Heritage Architecture Ltd were commissioned to undertake the following:

• HISTORIC APPRAISAL OF THE BUILDING: Heritage Architecture Ltd undertook historic research and compiled background information regarding the Polex Hotel. Searches in local and national archives for published and primary sources and an appraisal of significance in accordance with the Communities and Local Government Circular 01/2007, Revisions to Principles of Selection for Listing Buildings formed a key part of the background information.

• CONSERVATION AREA APPRAISAL: A limited appraisal of the character of the Whalley Range Conservation Area was undertaken by Heritage Architecture Ltd. with particular emphasis on that area most likely to be impacted upon by the proposed development. This contextual analysis was an appraisal and characterisation of the immediate environs of the Conservation Area, carried out in accordance with the English Heritage Guidance on conservation area appraisals (2005), against which the proposed development was assessed.

• PPG15 JUSTIFICATION STATEMENT: A justification statement was formulated to accompany conservation area consent for the demolition of the unlisted Polex Hotel; including an appraisal of the proposed replacement building and its potential impact upon the character and appearance of the Whalley Range Conservation Area.