NPS is set to restore the historic Castle Dairy, a 14th Century Grade 1 Listed Building which is reputed to be the oldest continuously inhabited dwelling in Cumbria. Its most recent use as a restaurant came to an end in 2007 and it has stood empty and in a state of repair since. In order to restore its historic and cultural value and continue to be of benefit to the local community, the building will now be offered to Kendal College for use as an Art Gallery and Patisserie to complement existing and proposed College uses.
The College will manage the building and use it to provide display space, sales area and refreshment facilities for students and the public with entrance frontage to a retail street. Kendal College had previously acquired land and buildings in surrounding areas of castle Dairy and is temporarily using these for teaching purposes. It has also recently acquired funding to build a new theatre on the site to underpin its drama courses and agreed to purchase adjacent buildings for redevelopment. The completed developments will form a single, academic, satellite campus and will enable expansion of the College and lift the whole area in terms of appearance and vitality.
The proposed use of the building by Kendal College will be the best community use for it and will retain it within Council control to help to protect it for the future. NPS fully support the decision having previously advised that due to its limited facilities, ageing fittings and deteriorating condition of the premises it would be extremely doubtful that any commercial tenant could independently run a successful business from the building.
Following the cabinets agreement to the scheme, the Kendal office of the NPS Group will now lead on the design/grant applications and the restoration management in liaison with the joint South Lakeland District Council and Kendal College Project Team.
John Davies, Principal Architect at NPS, commented, “NPS are delighted to be involved with the latest phase of Kendal College’s ambitious plans. The proposal to bringing the grade-one listed Castle Dairy back into use as gallery and café space, in conjunction with the exciting re-development on their adjoining site linking through to the Museum, will secure the future of this historic building in the context of a dynamic cultural campus near the town centre.”
