Conservation Area

[vicky whitworth]

Hello, there is a row of five Victorian, estate-type, terraced cottages in our village that lie in the conservation area and within the ANOB but I don't think they are listed -I can't find them on Images of England. Today I noticed that one of the cottages has had its road-side wooden windows replaced in white plastic double-glazing - what was there was possibly original and was certainly poorly maintained. The cottages are all tenanted and owned by the Lord of the Manor. Are you allowed to do this in a conservation area if the building isn't listed? It looks horrid and I suspect signals a gradual replacement of all the windows in the terrace. Why do people have no soul?

 

[JoceAndChris]

How horrible for you. Most period properties have been defaced in that way round here too, it really scuppers the general appearance. Unfotunately I think a lot of people believe upvc to be a positive enhancement.

 

[vicky whitworth]

I know - it's grim. Our neighbour has just put two old photos of her cottage facing outwards on her window sill so that passers by can see them. Lovely pictures of an 18th century rubble stone thatched cottage at the turn of the last century. You have to peer through her white plastic, pseudo-diamond lattice, double glazed units to see them. You wouldn't know it was the same house - the little cottage is still there somewhere but it has an entirely new roof line, extensions jutting out at either end, it's three or four times the size it was, it has plastic guttering, plastic doors (strangely four of them in a row along the front). She can't see the difference in scale, style, materials. They should teach this stuff at school. Sorry, I'm off again!

 

[JoceAndChris]

:evil: No need to apologise. I think it's appalling, and it's happening all the time with people not even realising how they're killing their homes.

It's particularly galling if you go to a lot of effort with lime renders, mortars and paints, and time-consuming repair and repainting of your timber windows - which everyone else gets to look at and enjoy - whilst you still have to look at their monstrosities. This is another reason why I don't want to live near people anymore.

 

[vicky whitworth]

You're like me. We're down a farm track away from everyone. I don't mind modern houses being modern. I don't personally like modern interiors in old homes but I know many are done extremely well, but it's just not my taste. But I hate to see old houses spoilt by poor quality, modern materials and converted into 'Barratt' homes. Why not live in a modern house if that's what you really like? I have to drive past my neighbour to get home and it makes me feel slightly sick. I look after an elderly neighbour who understands old cottages and lives in an untouched gem and whenever I drive her past this place she says, 'Drive by quickly and I'll look the other way'! What really sickens me is that the neighbour with the 'Barratt' home says she can't see the difference between mine and hers - why did I bother to spend all that money on craftspersons!

 

[johnandrew]

This really gets my goat, it really does. I can't understand why we can't have tougher rules in conservation areas. :x

(I'm sure Gareth will be along sooon with the real answer but here is my take on Conservation areas)

Unless the local authority has removed permitted development rights via an article 4(1) or 4(2)* direction then being in a conservation area offers very little protection for buildings. This basically means that apart from new constructions and knocking down existing buildings anything goes (windows, doors, etc)

I think there are a few famous cases whereby a court decided that partial demolition did not require special consent. The previous owners of our house didn't need consent to remove an entire chimney stack from our house and remove ceilings to obtain that much sort after open to the rafters effect ....arrrghhh.

I find the whole conservation area designation a bit lame.

*According to EH only 13% of CAs have Article 4 directions in place.

 

[Gervase]

Agreed, a CA without an Article 4 direction is pretty pointless and personally I wouldn't even consider going for just CA status.
The problem is that there is often a backlash from residents, and sometimes it gets so vehement that the local authority won't/daren't impose an Article 4 direction. Wearing my CO hat, I've been involved implementing two (both backed by Article 4), and each has been a political minefield, with the usual suspects coming out of the woodwork to sow paranoia among the locals, to the extent that I've had people say, "how dare you impose on our rights like that - it's outrageous that the council dares to tell us what we can and can't do with our own homes. You'll be condeming us to live in the dark ages."
It takes a remarkable amount of self-control, patience and diplomacy to explain that the whole purpose of the CA designation is to improve an area, and that the various proscriptions are actually a good idea - a difficult call when, for some people, uPVC is in every way superior to timber.
So far one CA has been approved with an Article 4 direction and I'm awaiting cabinet approval on the other, but neither battle has been easy.

 

[johnandrew]

(I'm sure Gareth will be along sooon with the real answer but here is my take on Conservation areas)

.

Did I mean Gervase? I suppose we have more than one CO on here.

I think you could count the number of building in our CA that have their original windows/gutters/doors on one hand.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Did I mean Gervase? I suppose we have more than one CO on here.

As far as I'm aware we're currently blessed with at least 3 COs - Gervase, Gareth, and Garnett. As well as some other extremely knowledgeable people, like our Uncle Stephen.

You're like me. We're down a farm track away from everyone. I don't mind modern houses being modern. I don't personally like modern interiors in old homes but I know many are done extremely well, but it's just not my taste. But I hate to see old houses spoilt by poor quality, modern materials and converted into 'Barratt' homes. Why not live in a modern house if that's what you really like? I have to drive past my neighbour to get home and it makes me feel slightly sick. I look after an elderly neighbour who understands old cottages and lives in an untouched gem and whenever I drive her past this place she says, 'Drive by quickly and I'll look the other way'! What really sickens me is that the neighbour with the 'Barratt' home says she can't see the difference between mine and hers - why did I bother to spend all that money on craftspersons!

Oh, God. Do you ever feel like secretly planting REALLY rampant vines up against these houses, or popping in baby trees to screen them off? I do, all the time. Or dropping letters through the letterboxes of the nice ones just to say how much I appreciate seeing proper Viccy or early 20th C sashes, and begging them never to change them.

 

[Gervase]

In fairness to Gareth and the other 'proper' COs, I should point out that I'm only a two-day-a-week part-timer, so my advice carries only 40 per cent of the clout that theirs does!

 

[johnandrew]

Is it possible to implement article 4 directions so that when people come to replace plastic windows they have to replace with something more appropriate?