‘An Overview’

The Importance of Conservation Areas: Historic areas are now extensively recognised for the contribution they make to our cultural inheritance, economic well-being and quality of life. There is undoubtedly firm public support for the conservation and enhancement of areas of architectural and historic interest and for the recognition of such areas.

Government policy imposes a duty on LPA’s to designate as Conservation Areas any ‘areas of special architectural or historic interest the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’. Government also stresses the need for definition of the special architectural or historic characteristics of a Conservation Area through up-to-date Character Appraisals and Management Plans.

Assessment & designation of Conservation Areas: Conservation Area designation should be seen as the means of recognising the importance of such factors as:

1. ·The quality and interest of areas, rather than that of individual buildings measured in the context of the overall quality of the district not just immediate environs.
2. ·The historic layout of property boundaries and thoroughfares.
3. ·The character and hierarchy of spaces, ‘mix’ of uses and townscape quality.
4. ·Characteristic materials, the range of traditional materials prevalent in the area for buildings, walls and surfaces.
5. ·The quality of advertisements, shop fronts street furniture and hard and soft surfaces.
6. ·Vistas along streets and between buildings.
7. ·Traffic intrusion on pedestrian use of spaces between buildings.

Deciding which areas are of ‘special architectural or historic interest’ is ultimately a matter for the judgement of local planning authorities. But local communities have a vital role to play – what is valued by the community may add a new perspective to what is considered to be ‘special’ by the local authority.

For designation of conservation areas to be effective it is important that a consistent approach is employed and the judgements made based on a thorough understanding of the area in its wider context and through detailed appraisal of the area. It is essential that the real ‘specialness’ is measured in the context of the overall quality of the district to justify the designation.

Implications of designation: Following designation, LPA’s have a duty in exercising their planning powers, to pay special attention to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of Conservation Areas. Local Plan policies (SHDC18, CS7, CS9), National Guidance (PPG15, PPS1, PPS7) and Supplementary Planning Guidance (‘New Work in Conservation Areas’) all offer a means for giving greater specific guidance on development control matters relating to conservation areas. There is a requirement for applications to be made for Conservation Area Consent for the demolition of unlisted buildings, the need to advertise these and planning applications within conservation areas and the requirement for the felling or lopping of trees to be notified to the local authority. The need to consider the impact of development proposals on the special architectural or historic interest of the area requires the local authority to ensure that it can call on specialist conservation expertise in the initial assessment of, and subsequent negotiations on, statutory applications. The LPA may also consider making a direction under Article 4 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 in order to preserve the character and appearance of the conservation area.

Designation also has some implications for owners and occupiers of property within the area, because of the increased statutory controls and particular requirements for the repair or alteration of existing, or construction of new, buildings. For many owners, however, these implications may be outweighed by the ‘prestige’ of designation and the tendency of development controls aimed at maintaining the character of the conservation area to sustain, or enhance, the value of property within it.

 New Buildings in Conservation Areas: New development in conservation areas should aspire to a quality of design and execution, related to its context, which may be valued in the future. This neither implies nor precludes working in traditional or new ways, but will normally involve respecting values established through assessment of the significance of the area. When considering proposals for new development, the LPA’s principal concern should be the appropriateness of the overall mass or volume of the building, its scale (the expression of size indicated by the windows, doors, floor/ceiling heights, and other identifiable units), and its relationship to its context – whether it sits comfortably on its site.

A new building should be in harmony with, or complementary to, its neighbours