THE Dyson School of Design Innovation, at Bath South Quays on the South bank of the River Avon near Churchill Bridge, would offer engineering courses for young people aged between 14 and 19.

An application for listed building consent and a full application for planning permission were considered by Bath and North East Somerset Council's Development Control Committee on March 19, 2008.

The site currently forms part of the Bath Riverside Business Park and contains the Newark Works industrial buildings formerly occupied by Stothert and Pitt engineering company (notable worldwide for crane production) and dating from the mid-19th century with 20th-century alterations and additions.

In 1960, when I was sent to help keep the peace in the British Cameroons, West Africa, I noted with interest a dockside crane made by "Stothert and Pitt: Makers: Bath: England" when I disembarked in Victoria.

The Heritage Canada Foundation has objected to proposals to demolish the vast majority of the Newark Works buildings on Bath's Lower Bristol Road as it was designed by Thomas Fuller, architect of Canada's Parliament Buildings, and the Newark Works stand as an important historical and intellectual link between England and Canada.

While Fuller's Parliament building burned down in 1916, his elegant Library of Parliament survived. This masterpiece, often called the most important Gothic Revival building in North America, underwent extensive refurbishment and was unveiled to much fanfare in 2006.

From 1881 to 1896, Fuller was chief Dominion Architect designing and supervising more than 140 buildings across Canada at a crucial stage of the nation's development. Thomas Fuller's strong influence on Canadian architecture is evident in the enduring presence of his buildings in Canadian communities to this day.

The Newark Works, in other words, is a building of international importance.

The scale and materials Fuller employed in its construction – the long facade, use of local stone, mixture of classical motifs, and rock-faced voussoirs around the door and windows, demonstrate how he developed the skill and aesthetic sensibility to produce the kinds of buildings he went on to design.

The international importance of the works was a significant reason when they were listed Grade II in December 2006.

The Dyson proposals involve substantial demolition of the principal building. It is planned to remove the existing roof structure, the inside of the building to be gutted, the rear and eastern gable walls of the former office demolished and arcading introduced in the front elevation. The foundry in the riverside area to the rear is also to be demolished.

Government guidance categorises land areas according to the probability of flooding occurring, making allowances for climate change. In the council's Strategic Flood Risk Assessment, the South Quays site has been identified as being partly within flood zone 2 (medium probability of flooding) and partly within flood zone 3a (high probability of flooding)

Educational establishments of all types (including the Dyson School) are grouped by Government guidance, together with a range of other uses including residential, in a "more vulnerable" category. It is stated that these uses should be permitted only on a site wholly or partly within a flood zone 3a if it has been shown that there is no readily available appropriate alternative site which is less liable to flood.

In its comments on the Dyson School proposal, the Environment Agency states its view that it has not been shown that there is no suitable alternative site less liable to flood. The agency's officers dealing with the matter have steadfastly stood their ground in the face of intense pressure from a number of quarters.

The flood-risk issue could well have a much wider effect.

In July 2006, Edward Cullinan Architects prepared a Bath South Quays Masterplan which showed very substantial development on both banks of the River Avon between Churchill Bridge (near the proposed Dyson School of Design Innovation) and Midland Bridge (near the proposed Bath Western Riverside scheme for 2,281 dwellings). This masterplan has not been officially published; nevertheless some attention has been paid to it.

In considering this riverside development, the council will need to pay close attention to the Secretary of State's policies on planning and flood risk.

The outcome could well be a limit on the extent of development on these riverbanks.

Our council's officers strongly criticised the design, size, height and materials proposed for the Dyson school. They say the new building would tower over what remains of the listed building and will not respect its character or its important setting, thus being contrary to official guidance.

It is not entirely clear how the proposed design has emerged. It seems to be the end result of what some might describe as part of an emerging architectural trend in which a proposed building has apparently been designed to draw attention to itself and where the importance of existing buildings on the site, the context of the site and local distinctiveness appear to count for little.

Remarkably, the committee supported the applications. However, they were referred to the Secretary of State.

The Government Office for the South West issued an Article 14 Direction which prevented the council from giving planning permission and listed building consent while the Secretary of State considered whether to call in the application. On August 6, the Secretary of State announced that she had decided to hold a local public inquiry.

On the information so far available to the Secretary of State, she particularly wishes to be informed about flood risk, the desirability of preserving listed buildings and their setting, and the effect of the proposed development on the City of Bath World Heritage Site.