Plans submitted to restore Toft Monks Mill

The new owners of the Toft Monks Mill in the heart of the Norfolk Broads, a Mr and Mrs Singer, want to carry out a comprehensive programme of repair and conservation work to the mill and the surrounding site.

Their aim is to find a sustainable future use for the mill, near Haddiscoe Cut, and its immediate environment that is appropriate to its historic context and incorporates "significant public benefits".

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Haddiscoe Island sits between the River Waveney and River Yare, near the Haddiscoe Cut and St Olaves (Image: Google)

Permission for a full residential conversion of the mill was originally granted in 1974.

The original architect’s plans envisaged a large two-storey extension to the tower of the mill, increasing the floor space by a factor of five times.

The applicants say an extension of that original size would have resulted in a "substantial level of harm to the original fabric of the windmill" and to its historic setting and appearance.

The large scale and massing of the proposed extension would have dominated the "modest dimensions of the windmill tower".

So Mr and Mrs Singer say their conversion work will be rebuilt on the existing foundations, "matching its original form and appearance" as closely as possible.

An artist's impression of how the site will look once complete (Image: Howes Design)

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The plan proposes to relocate the domestic accommodation to a separate freestanding structure 25 metres away from the mill tower.

This would enable the windmill itself to be fully restored to its last working appearance and will allow it to function again for demonstration.

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Toft Monks Mill on Haddiscoe Island (Image: Paul Newton)

The present scheme will transform the site by opening it up for regular public access. 

Plans say that where they are serviceable, all of the "original cast iron and masonry components will be re-used".

Where replacement parts are required, these will be designed to replicate as accurately as possible those parts that are missing or are not in a fit state to be re-used.

A decision on the plans will be made by the Broads Authority.

The new owners plan to breathe new life into the old Toft Monks Mill (Image: James Bass)