Agenda item

Report number PLA11 of the Cabinet Member for Economy and Development.    (Enclosure)

Decision:

Cabinet approves the commencement of a formal process to remove permitted development rights for specific types of development within the designated Stamford Conservation Area as shown at appendix 1 of report number PLA11 under Article 4 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015.

The Cabinet also authorises the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Economy and Development to produce a set of options for the application fee for any works that would be restricted by the directive for any necessary consultation.

Considerations:

1.    Report number PLA11 of the Cabinet Member for Economy and Development and Stamford Conservation Area map attached as appendix 1 to the report

2.    Previously made comments by Stamford Town Council and Stamford Civic Society which expressed a view that Stamford Conservation Area should be the subject of an Article 4 Direction

3.    Benefits would include:

a.    Protection of the special character of a Conservation Area

b.    Enhancing the quality of the environment

c.    Encouraging the use of local and traditional building materials

d.    Ensuring buildings that contribute towards the area’s character are protected from unsympathetic and damaging change

e.    Aligning with the Council’s priority to promote tourism, leisure and the arts           

4.    An overview of the scope of withdrawing permitted development rights

5.    A summary of the Article 4 designation process

6.    Equality Analysis attached as appendix 2 to report number PLA11

Ward Member Engagement

District Councillors whose Wards were included in the Stamford Conservation area were made aware of the recommendation to propose an Article 4 Direction. Of the eight Ward Councillors affected, feedback was received from seven who all supported the proposal.

Other options considered:

To not designate an Article 4 Direction. There has been no area-wide control over permitted development across the Stamford Conservation Area since it was first designated in 1967. However there has since been a gradual erosion of the architectural details of the historic fabric of a number of unlisted buildings within the Conservation Area.

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During discussion on the item Members were mindful that the introduction of the Article 4 Direction would mean that residents living in the affected area would need to apply for planning permission, which was subject to payment of a fee, for work that they could previously have done without any controls. While no fee had been proposed at this point, Members expressed a commitment that while a fee would be charged to cover administration costs, it would be set at a lower rate than the fee for ordinary householder consents to minimise the burden. A suggestion was made that the Leader and the Cabinet Member for Economy and Development should produce some options for application fees for works that would be restricted by the Direction for consultation.

Cabinet Members spoke in support of the proposal and the benefits that it could bring. Examples were given of the introduction of Article 4 Directions that had been introduced in other parts of the country that had seen the protection of Conservation Areas, which had in turn encouraged members of the public to carry out sympathetic works and restore original features on their own impetus. Once the Article 4 Direction was in place for Stamford, Members indicated that consideration would be given to the introduction of Article 4 Directions in other parts of the district, specific reference was made to some of the rural villages in the southern part of the district. Subsequent work would also be carried out in Stamford to review the current Conservation Area and consider whether it should be extended.

A non-Cabinet Member from Stamford who was present at the meeting indicated their support of the proposal.

Clarification was given that the Direction could not be applied retrospectively, meaning that no enforcement action could be taken on properties that had carried out unsympathetic works prior to the day of enactment.

Members agreed the recommendation in the report and also that the Leader and the Cabinet Member for Economy and Development should produce for consultation, some options for associated application fees.