Conservation Area Character Appraisals

Conservation Areas –  What are they?

A conservation area is defined as ‘an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’.

Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990

Most conservation areas predate 1990; by 2006 over 9,100 extended across England and Wales. Torbay with its rich urban heritage contains 24 such designated areas: 16 in Torquay, 4 in Paignton and 4 in Brixham. Eight were designated in the 1970s, thirteen in the 1980s, and one in 2001. A number have been revised and extended since their original designation.

Conservation areas vary widely in their nature, character and extent: Barton is less 3ha, Lincombes is larger than 101ha; some are still largely rural such as Maidencombe, while others such as Torre and Tormohun from inner Torquay are solidly urban; some such as Old Paignton are nucleated, others such as Brixham Town and Higher Brixham reflect ribbon developments; and some such as Shorton have historic, or even medieval, antecedents and are now entirely subsumed into a 20^th-century townscape, while others such as Chelston are almost entirely the creation of the late-19^th century.

Conservation Area Character Appraisals – What do they do?
The compilation of the appraisals is the first step in a dynamic process which seeks to preserve and enhance the character and appearance of the designated area. The appraisal will record the results of a careful and objective analysis of the area, evaluating precisely what is special about the area; public participation and consultation is also an integral part of the process. The appraisal therefore provides a written and public record of the special interest which was the justification of the designation, its character and appearance. Once adopted the appraisals will not only provide a solid foundation for the local authority’s policies, established in the relevant supplementary planning documents (SPDs), area action plans (AAPs), and development control decisions – which must all be all defensible on appeal – but also a framework for developing management strategies: Conservation Area Management Plans.

Why are they compiled?
Undertaking an appraisal offers the local authority, and the public, an opportunity to re-assess and re-evaluate the special character of the designated area. Because some designations may be of many years standing – Cockington was first designated in December 1970 – there may never have been a formal and public written record of the special and historic character. In 1994 Planning Policy Guidance Note 15: planning and the historic environment declared that ‘the more clearly the special architectural or historic  interest that justifies designation is defined and recorded, the sounder will be the basis for local plan policies and development control decisions, as well as for [its] preservation and enhancement … The definition of an area’s special interest should derive from an assessment of the elements that contribute to (and detract from) it.’

The provision of detailed and up-to-date character appraisals with full public consultation has been a council priority. Initial research was undertaken by a independent consultant in 2000-2001; since 2004 all work has been undertaken in-house by the Planning and Development Services’ Conservation and Design team. Since February 2005 the need for a local authority to have up-to-date appraisals for all its conservation areas has been part of a heritage ‘Best value Performance Indicator’ (ODPM BV 219 Preserving the special character of conservation areas).

How are they compiled?
Each conservation area has a distinct character, and often a number of disparate but equally distinct sub-areas. The conservation area has developed over time from a unique combination of its geology, topography, historic environment, social and economic use. The type, size and density of building patterns; the interspersing of street layout, trees & hedges, open spaces, views; and the presence or absence of churches, public buildings, archaeological monuments and high quality new buildings all contribute to the uniqueness and spirit of place.

Using documentary sources of all types and street surveys, the appraisal seeks to record the distinctive elements of every area. First by looking at its geology and topography, and how this has influenced the origins and historic development of the settled area. It further charts in text, and by maps and photographs development up to the present day, including the formation of the distinctive sub-areas. An essential component is the identification of those key-buildings which contribute most to the character of the conservation area; these will include the statutory listed buildings, though these will almost always be a minority. It is the presence of the many unlisted but key-buildings, which typify the historic development of the area and which have led to the designation in the first place, that do most to establish its special character. The key-buildings are often individually described, for it is in the period detail and ornamentation, materials, and settings that they acquire their identity. And it is through the recording of these essential elements that change, be it enhancing or be it deleterious, can best be monitored and future concerns and policies formulated.

Other important parts of the conservation area, and hence the appraisal, include an assessment of the natural environment; that is the surrounding green landscape and its trees, which may be simply residual and thus organic, or it may have been as integral a part of the designed environment as the buildings. All appraisals conclude with a résumé of the setting and features of special importance of the conservation area, followed by a summation of the loss and degradation of the special character, and the general conservation area policies adopted to date, as well as the ones recommended for the specific area.

Using the Character Appraisals
The adopted appraisals provide a sound basis for development control and in the targeting of any improvement initiatives, such as heritage economic regeneration schemes (HERs), or townscape heritage initiatives (THIs). The appraisals do not seek to prevent change, but they do act as a tool in managing it, by providing a reference and benchmark of the special character. For example applications for buildings, extensions, replacements and the use of materials will be judged against the simple criterion ‘Does it improve or enhance the special character or interest of the conservation area?’ Schemes which do not meet this test are unlikely to be approved. Wider management issues, such as dereliction, the reversal of chronic economic decline or comprehensive redevelopment will be addressed in a separate Conservation Area Management Plan, the second element of the dynamic process, but will arise out of the appraisal’s assessments.

Related Documents

Babbacombe Downs Conservation Area Appraisal

Barton Conservation Area Appraisal

Belgravia Conservation Area Appraisal

Cary Park Conservation Area Appraisal

Cockington Conservation Area Appraisal

Chelston Conservation Area Appraisal

Maidencombe Conservation Area Appraisal

Old Paignton Conservation Area Appraisal

Polsham Area Appraisal

Roundham & Paignton Harbour Area Appraisal

Shorton Conservation Area Appraisal

St Marychurch Conservation Area Appraisal

Torre Conservation Area Appraisal

Tormohun Conservation Area Appraisal

Torquay Harbour Conservation Area Appraisal

Upton Conservation Area Appraisal

Warberries Conservation Area Appraisal

Watcombe Park Conservation Area Appraisal

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