Article 4 (2) Directions

[Nemesis]

From today's edition of SALON, the online news for Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries:


Consultation on Article 4 (2) Directions


'Very late in the day, Salon’s editor has discovered that the Department for Communities and Local Government in England is consulting stakeholders on proposed amendments to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (SI No. 418/1995), including that vital piece of conservation legislation, the Article 4 (2) Direction.


An Article 4 (2) Direction requires a property owner to obtain planning permission for minor alterations to their property that are normally regarded as ‘permitted developments’ not requiring permission. They are a powerful tool for enabling local authorities to prevent damaging changes, especially in conservation areas, such as the demolition of boundary walls and the conversion of front gardens to parking space, or the replacement of timber windows with PVC, aluminium or treated timber alternatives.


The proposed changes will empower local authorities to impose an Article 4 (2) Direction without having to wait for the Secretary of State’s approval, and it will allow local authorities to bring an Article 4 (2) Direction into force more quickly by serving the relevant notice on the land by means of a site display in situations where serving individual notices is impractical because of the number of affected owners or occupiers, or because it is difficult to identify or locate one or more of them.


These proposed changes are helpful and positive and anyone who wishes to say as much has until 24 October 2006 to make a response, using the pro forma included at Annex C of the consultation document, which can be downloaded from the Communities and Local Government website.'

http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1501905

 

[biffvernon]

Yes, everone should send an e-mail saying something along the lines of:
I support the proposals regarding the Article 4 Directions.
to: asma.mouden@communities.gsi.gov.uk
including 'Consultation Response' in the subject line.

 

[Nemesis]

And 'pity that it took the amenity socs and SAVE to draw to your attention re the recent Commons Select Committee investigation into heritage that CA's are now hardly worth the paper they are declared on, partly owing to lack of Article 4's and partly owing to the Shimizu judgment...'

Rather too late for where I live, where plastic doors and windows abound in the local Conservation Area, even on as I said in another thread, listed buildings.


Too little too late for many, but I suppose better late than never.

Now - try getting an Article 4 in place, that's the next challenge.

Conservation Officers in every authority would be good, too.





http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmcumeds/912/912-iii.pdf