6. Debate on petition P-05-949 Save Cowbridge Old Girls' School from Demolition

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:39 pm on 16 February 2022.

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Photo of Dawn Bowden Dawn Bowden Labour 4:39, 16 February 2022

Okay. If I carry on, I may cover some of those points.

But the conclusion was that, unfortunately, the criteria are not met in this instance. The assessment—contrary, Darren, to the point that you raised—did recognise the historical importance of the introduction of intermediate schools for girls, but architecturally, this building has undergone extensive change, both historically and in more recent times. The better preserved a building is architecturally, the better it is able to illustrate its history and to contribute to our national story. This building no longer survives as built, its form has been compromised by large-scale alterations in 1909 and more recently, as recently as a few years ago, with the insertion of UPVC windows.

Now, while I note the call for a new category of listing, I don't share the view that reducing the threshold for listing to capture buildings such as Cowbridge school is appropriate. This would undermine the integrity of those buildings that have already been identified as being of national importance. There are already 30,000 listed buildings in Wales, more than any other UK nation in proportion to the size of its population.