'Monstrous' lodge replica is rejected

A PLAN to knock down a vandalised lodge at Preston Park and replace it with a “monstrous” metal partial replica of itself has been kicked out by councillors.

- By GARETH LIGHTFOOT

Members of Stockton Council’s planning committee said the money would be better spent restoring the park’s South Lodge after it was “left to rot and ruin”.

After a narrow vote, the authority has effectively rejected its own plan to demolish the condemned lodge and build a piece of public art.

The council asked its own planners for consent for the demolition of the lodge at the Eaglescliffe attraction, where a major extension is being built.

It was proposed to create a steel alloy structure which would “depict the original lodge”, with images showing a floorplan arrangement and arch-like sculptures based on features of the old 19th-century building.

The existing lodge is not the original building, but was built between 1919 and 1939 to replace it, and was used as a home until 2019. It since suffered vandalism and is unused and boarded up.