Striking home is razed to ground

It's the end of an era in Lytham, with one of the town's most striking buildings having been demolished.
Demolition of Green Ridges art deco house in Ballam Road, LythamDemolition of Green Ridges art deco house in Ballam Road, Lytham
Demolition of Green Ridges art deco house in Ballam Road, Lytham

The art deco Green Ridges home on Ballam Road has been razed to the ground to make way for a new apartment block.

Planning permission for the three-storey block, featuring eight apartments, was refused by Fylde Council but overturned on appeal, to the dismay of Lytham St Annes Civic Society as well as a group of neighbouring residents.

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But the last resident of the four-bedroom 1930s house joined the developers of the three-storey block of eight apartments intended for the site in greeting the planning inspector’s appeal decision with delight.

When the apartment block application went before Fylde’s planning committee in May last year, councillors particularly objected to the scale of the proposed development as well as the loss of Green Ridges, which was named House of the Year in a national trade publication soon after its construction.

But after consultants Turley appealed on behalf of developers Purcell and Harrison Hunt, planning inspector George Baird approved the scheme, with a full award of costs made to the developer.

The last resident of Green Ridges, Susan Havenhand, had the home on the market for nine years before the developers made their approach and said at the time of the successful appeal: “I’m delighted.

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“The development received a great deal of support locally and we are very grateful to all those who took the time to write to the Inspectorate.”

Neighbour John Barrett said at the time he and others nearby felt the development was ‘unsuitable for the locality’. As the bulldozers moved in, he added: “It’s a sad sight.”

Green Ridges won the Architects’ Journal House of the Year award in 1936 and original features of the period included inset lighting, Minster fireplaces and chrome stair rails.

It was described by Lytham St Annes Civic Society as ‘a good art deco survival, at least on the exterior, which deserved to be locally listed’.

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Society chairman Marion Coupe said: “The Civic Society view has been that that area is valued for its individually-designed houses set in large gardens.

“It is a strong candidate to be a conservation area and we hope this will happen soon.”