Conservation Areas exist to manage and protect the special architectural and historic interest of a place – in other words, the features that make it unique. Every local authority in England has at least one conservation area and there are around 10,000 in England.
Local planning authorities have a duty under section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 to designate as conservation areas any ‘areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’.
Local planning authorities have a duty under section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 to designate as conservation areas any ‘areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’.
There are 15 designated Conservation Areas within Reading and these are detailed on Reading Borough Council’s website. More details are given below.
Within our town we have the Conservation Area Advisory Committee (CAAC), who are an independent committee aiming to promote the preservation and enhancement of Reading’s heritage including its conservation areas. It is this group that manages the Character Appraisal for each of our Conservation Areas and the public consultation on any updates.
When a conservation area is designated, it is the character of the area that Conservation Area designation seeks to protect. This character does not come from the quality of their buildings alone, but includes many other features such as the historic layout of roads, building materials, maybe the mix of building types, the inclusion of gardens and parks, and trees and street furniture. Conservation Areas give broader protection than listing individual buildings and additional planning controls apply to conservation areas. It also introduces a statutory requirement for the local planning authority to consider the impact of a proposed development on the character of the Conservation Area.
The emphasis within Conservation Areas is on ensuring local character is strengthened, not diminished, by change. Sensitive management of change is essential rather than no change at all, and applications for planning permission must still be determined on their planning merits.
Historic England have information on Conservation Areas and their management.
Living in a Conservation Area
It is not always easy to understand the rules relating to what can be done if you live in a Conservation Area so we have provided some guidance below.
Permitted Development Rights granted under the Town and Country Planning General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (Permitted Development) are limited in conservation areas. Planning permission is required for certain external works to a house within a Conservation Area, which would not normally require planning permission elsewhere. The requirements also apply to the owner or tenant of a flat or a commercial property.
There are further restrictions applicable in Conservation Areas, for example when cladding any part of the exterior, installing an antenna, cutting down a tree or replacing original timber sash or casement windows. What may be seen as small alterations can damage the character and appearance of the area. Before any change is made you should always check with Reading Borough Council’s Planning Department.
Unauthorised works to property or to trees could result in legal proceedings being taken against those involved.
If you are an owner or tenant of a flat or a commercial property within a Conservation Area you are not only governed by normal planning controls for most external alterations, but the conservation area designation will mean that particular care will be taken to ensure that, if planning permission is granted, then the character or appearance of the conservation area is preserved or enhanced.
Where the Council considers new developments to be appropriate, a high standard of design is expected. Contact the Planning Department for informal design advice for development in Conservation Areas. The Council will require new building work to preserve and/or enhance the existing character or appearance of the area, and will typically insist that planning applications include a statement explaining how the development meets these statutory tests. Special regard should be given to such matters as scale, height, form, massing, detailed design and quality of materials in the interests of harmonising the new development with its neighbours. Density of development is an intrinsic part of the character of Conservation Areas. Proposals to subdivide grounds or large gardens will not normally be permitted unless it can be demonstrated that such proposals will not harm the character or appearance of the Conservation Area.
Subject to some exceptions, works for the substantial demolition of all or part of an unlisted building in a Conservation Area require planning permission. However, works which involve the removal of the fabric of only part of a building may not be regarded as works of demolition and therefore may not require planning permission for relevant demolition in a Conservation Area. Whether the works are substantial is a matter of fact and degree which will depend upon the circumstances in each case. Consent is sometimes required for the demolition of garden walls, especially those facing a highway or public footpath. Further controls on Permitted Development rights will apply if the Council have made an ‘Article 4 Direction’. You should always check first with the Council’s Planning Department when considering works of demolition. The Planning Portal has additional advice.
Local authorities are required to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of Conservation Areas as a whole, not just the character or appearance of buildings within them. A major element in the character or appearance of many conservation areas is the trees, gardens and other open spaces within them. All trees with a trunk diameter of 75 mm measured at 1.5 m above ground level within Conservation Areas are protected and any proposed works to them will require a written notification to the Council six weeks prior to beginning those works. If you wish to erect a shed or carry out any development under Permitted Development in a Conservation Area close to a tree then you are required to notify the Council in the same way as if you were carrying out works to the tree. In addition, many trees within Conservation Areas will be subject to Tree Preservation Orders in which case a formal application will be necessary before any works can proceed. The Council will have regard to the character of the area and the significance of the tree in determining any such application. There are exemptions from the general protection given to such trees in the conservation area, namely
- Trees that are dead, dying or that have become dangerous.
- Pruning of fruit trees in accordance with good horticultural practice.
- Trees that are the subject of a legal nuisance.
Where the loss of a tree is unavoidable, replanting with species that are native or traditional to the area will be encouraged.
Reading Borough Council produced a leaflet about planning for Listed Buildings and in Conservation Areas in Reading in 2002, but this has not been updated. We share it here as it offers guidance on what is a Conservation Area and what can be done in the area and permission processes. Note that some of the information is likely to be out of date due to the age of the document.
‘Article 4 direction’ is a legal framework under the Town and Country Planning Acts that removes some of the normal development rights that are available to property owners. The Council can issue these for various reasons to preserve elements of an area’s appearance or character. An ‘Article 4 direction’ does not prevent development taking place, but it does mean that planning permission is required for the development specified.
There are a number of ‘Article 4 directions’ in Reading; 15 of these relate to patterned brickwork or other architectural features, with the other two relating to conversions from a house to a small house in multiple occupation. In addition, an ‘Article 4 direction’ was made on covering a number of permitted development rights that result in new dwellings. This would apply in a number of areas of commercial activity across Reading. Reading Borough Council has more detail on our ‘Article 4 directions’.
The Reading Civic Society was instrumental in ensuring that the original ‘Article 4 directions’ in Reading were consistent and comprehensive by challenging the original listing, and that the included roads and homes impacted were published so that owners would know what planning consents were required. The Society also encouraged the clarification on what restrictions were being applied to properties.
If your building is Listed (either on The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) maintained by Historic England or the Locally Listed Buildings maintained by Reading Borough Council) or if has an ‘Article 4 direction’ on it then your Permitted Development Rights have been removed to a degree. To undertake certain development work you will have to apply for Listed Building Consent and/or Planning Permission; information is on the Reading Borough Council Website.
This presentation gives information on the 15 areas where ‘Article 4 direction’ has been applied for patterned brickwork and other architectural features.
The following sites offer information on Conservation Areas and their management, as well as general advice on historic environments, and include references to a range of publications.
- Historic England – Designating and Managing a Conservation Area
- Institute of Historic Building Conservation
- Building Conservation Directory
- Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
- Planning Portal
- The Georgian Group
- The Victorian Society
- Twentieth Century Society
- The Arboricultural Association
- The Tree Council
- The Old House Store in Caversham (gives information on heritage products)
These website addresses are given for information purposes only and do not imply any endorsement of the website supplier or the content of these external sites. Reading Civic Society carries no responsibility for the accuracy of any information on the websites included here.