Conservation Area Legalish Advice?

[tom.harrigan]

Hi

Despite the efforts of the local planning authority, my village has successfully resisted conservation area designation for over 20 years. According to the conservation officer, the village is in the top 2% of areas of special architectural interest under her control. The district council would very much like to designate it, but will not do so without the support of the parish council. This is where the fun and games begin. You would not believe the tactics employed by certain parties who stand to gain by preventing designation. These range from putting leaflets through everyone's door claiming our council tax would go up and public sector pensions affected, to attempted vote rigging, to a whole lot of other unpleasant stuff. The parish council is controlled by these people.

If my reading of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 is correct, the local planning authority has a duty to designate those areas it deems suitable as conservation areas. In not doing so, it seems to me to be going against the act. Nowhere in the act does it say parish councils have to even be consulted. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might go about pressurising the district council into doing its job? Letters to them don't work. Last November about 135 villagers signed a letter to the district council in support of conservation status, they haven't even replied. The conservation officer is supposedly waiting for a comment from the parish council before she replies, but the PC are up to their old tricks and not bothering to reply to her letter!

T

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Yes, it's a duty, not an optional extra (note that shall does not mean the same as may):

69.—(1) Every local planning authority—
(a) shall from time to time determine which parts of their area are areas of special architectural or historic interest the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance, and
(b) shall designate those areas as conservation areas.
(2) It shall be the duty of a local planning authority from time to time to review the past exercise of functions under this section and to determine whether any parts or any further parts of their area should be designated as conservation areas; and, if they so determine, they shall designate those parts accordingly.
(3) The Secretary of State may from time to time determine that any part of a local planning authority's area which is not for the time being designated as a conservation area is an area of special architectural or historic interest the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance; and, if he so determines, he may designate that part as a conservation area.

I wouldn't hold your breath for option 3 to happen.

There is no obligation to consult the public (or the parish council, or whoever) before designation, however, a conservation area designated under such conditions would be unlikely to have much weight attached to it as the designation would not have followed current best practice.

Can I ask where this is?

 

[skier-hughes]

Also, look at joining the parish council and getting those who are also interested in the cause to do the same.
Check to see if there are any vacancies, when the next lot of voting will take place etc and prepare your case.

 

[Nemesis]

You could seek support from ASHTAV:

http://www.ashtav.org.uk

 

[tom.harrigan]

Thanks for the advice. The non-conservation area in question is in north Oxfordshire, and this is a village website: http://www.sheningtonalkerton.ik.com/ .

Sadly we are starting to really suffer the effects of not being a conservation area. We have an ancient monument, "The Lynchets" which I consider is now blighted, and a recent development of 5 houses which would look totally out of place. The word from the planners is that they would not have allowed 5, 5-bedroomed identical houses to be placed in a row if we were a conservation area.

T

 

[andrew gayton]

Not that conservation area designation really amounts to anything post 1997.

 

[Nemesis]

Well, since EH's Mr McCracken did his bit re Smithfield summing up I think we have an expert opinion which clarifies some of it... but I wouldn't hold out that five new houses wouldn't have been built, an appeal is always possible. And at times is successful.

 

[ljn]

Not that conservation area designation really amounts to anything post 1997.

What changed in '97?

 

[Nemesis]

This did:

http://www.persona.uk.com/smithfield/Core_docs/CD-29-7.pdf

However, see also:

http://www.persona.uk.com/smithfield/EH_docs/add_docs/EH-23.pdf

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Curiouser and curiouser, Cherwell District Council, where this is, have 54 Conservation Areas - more than many - and have even taken the bold and praiseworthy step of designating two WWII airfields, so overall I can't find a reason to doubt their committment to the idea of CAs.

Can't find much in the way of pictures of the villages of Shenington and Alkerton - what there is seems to concentrate on the village green and local pub which is picturesque certainly (though with some grotty treacle-stained windows), but is the rest of the place all made up of post-war executive homes and bungalows?

 

[tom.harrigan]

It is curious isn't it! You could be forgiven for assuming the rest of the village is a multi-storey car park, but these two photos are fairly representative:
http://www.lodging-world.com/accom.Top_Farm_House.122630.html
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-19019171.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

There is a photo looking out of the property onto the green in this one:

http://www.upmystreet.propertyfinder.com/2/pf/da/upMyStreet/property/details.do?action=ATN_GET_PROPERTY_DETAILS&propertyDetailsKey=10670583&tenure=buy&l1=OX156LZ

Shenington is actually one of the best examples of an ironstone village with a green at its centre (the pub being by far the worst building on it!). Alkerton is a wonderful little place in a secluded valley. In fact its so nice Cherwell DC publish an "Historic Village Trail", which can be downloaded: http://www.cherwell-dc.gov.uk/talktous/publications.cfm/publication/153/

T