Taking care of conservation areas

Today's villages, cities and towns continue to bear witness to our social and economic history. They give us a personal sense of place and belonging, reinforced simply by walking down the street. Places can lose their historic character all too easily unless changes are managed carefully.

Anyone who cares about the physical environment, economic and social wellbeing or local distinctiveness of their area will appreciate the local significance of the historic environment.

In social terms, it shapes how we live our lives as individuals, households and communities. It represents an invaluable storehouse of information, knowledge and understanding about why people and places are like they are and offers insights into what they could become.

Appropriate change

CPRE's county branches, regional and district groups, and volunteers, have long used the planning system to support the historic environment - often in conservation areas.

Conservation areas were first introduced by the 1967 Civic Amenities Act, and there are now around 9,300 of them across England.

A conservation area is an area of special architectural or historic interest,
whose character and appearance it is desirable to preserve and enhance.

They are designated by local authorities under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.

Their purpose is not to prevent but to manage change in places local people want to protect from neglect, decay or inappropriate development.

Local authority websites have information about which areas are designated.

English Heritage's survey of conservation areas
reveals that about 1 in 7 are at risk from neglect, decay or inappropriate change - that is, they have deteriorated over the last three years, or are expected to do so over the next three years.

According to English Heritage, the top ten threats facing conservation areas currently are:

unsympathetic replacement doors and windows (83% of conservation areas)
poorly maintained roads and pavements (60%)
amount of street clutter (45%)
fences or hedges (43%)
unsightly satellite dishes (38%)
effects of traffic calming or traffic management (36%)
alterations to front elevations, roofs and chimneys (34%)
unsympathetic new extensions (31%)
impact of advertisements (23%)
neglected green spaces (18%)

Success factors

Past experience shows that a conservation area is much more likely to improve over the next three years if there is a heritage champion in the local authority.

Conservation areas with appraisals or Article 4 directions are almost twice as likely to improve in the next three years as those without.

An appraisal identifies what is special as well and needs protecting as well as identifying how to help with the area's management.

An Article 4 direction - under Article 4 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 - allows the Secretary of State or local planning authority to require a planning application for development that would normally not need one because it would be covered by permitted development rights.

Local planning authorities need the approval of the Secretary of State in most cases. An Article 4 direction can be used to prevent plastic windows and doors and other small-scale but damaging changes that would otherwise not need consent.

According to a recent English Heritage survey to which 272 conservation officers responded, just 15% of conservation areas have actually seen an improvement since 2006.

Only 54% of conservation areas have an appraisal, or one in the making, and only 13% have an Article 4 direction.

Urban and suburban conservation areas are twice as likely to be at risk as rural ones, and 45% of conservation areas have no formal community support.

Positive effect on prices

English Heritage has some interesting facts from a recent survey of estate agents.

Tellingly, 82% of estate agents feel that original features tend to add financial value to properties, and 78% think they help a property to sell more quickly.

Three-quarters believe that a well-maintained conservation area adds to the value of the properties within it. Confidence in the area keeping its character and the attractive environment are the two key reasons for this.

Unsympathetic replacement windows and doors, particularly plastic/PVCu, is the single biggest threat to property values in conservation areas.

Residential properties within conservation areas sell for more than equivalent properties not in a conservation area.

Find out which conservation areas near you are at risk!

Reproduced from the September 2009 edition of CPRE's member newsletter Fieldwork based on information from English Heritage.

Fiona Cowan
2 December 2009