Penarth Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan July 2011 This document is the adopted Penarth Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan, and is a publicly agreed statement on the character and appearance of the Conservation Area and of a publicly agreed set of policies and actions intended to preserve and enhance special qualities of the Conservation Area. Following a period of public consultation from 9th May 2011 to 17th June 2011 this document will be submitted on 20th July 2011 to the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s Cabinet meeting with a recommendation that the document is adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance to the Vale of Glamorgan Unitary Development Plan.The Appraisal/Management Plan will also inform the preparation of the emergent Local Development Plan. All maps are © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. The Vale of Glamorgan Council Licence No. 100023424 2011 The Vale of Glamorgan © 2011 Penarth Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Contents Preface 3 Introduction and Background Introduction 4 The Effects of Designation 5 Process of Preparation of the Appraisal 6 Planning Policy Framework 7 Summary of Special Interest 8 Location and Setting 9 Historic Development and Archaeology 12 Analysis Spatial Analysis 15 Character Analysis 18 Problems, Pressures and Capacity for Change 30 Summary of Issues 31 The Management Plan 32 Appendices 1. Criteria for the Selection of Positive Buildings 42 2. Audit of Historic Assets 43 3. Schedule of Properties for Exclusion 46 4. References and Useful Information 47 5. Penarth Article 4(2) Direction 49 6. Townscape Appraisal Maps 53 1 Penarth Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Plan 1: Penarth Conservation Area Plan of existing Boundary (not to scale) N 2 Penarth Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Preface The Penarth Conservation Area is the largest and one of the most varied within the Vale of Glamorgan. It includes part of the town centre; Victorian villas and terraced housing; formal parks and important urban spaces; the seafront promenade and pier In 1994, the former Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council prepared an Appraisal for the conservation area which was adopted in 1996. This document made a number of recommendations including the de designation of parts of the conservation area and the introduction of an Article 4(2) Direction. The effect of the Direction was to introduce stronger planning control over small alterations (e.g. windows/doors) to houses. In the intervening years, a favourable economy has lead to dramatic increases in land and property values. This has been reflected in substantial levels of investment in the repair and upgrading of historic buildings. In some areas, there has also been pressure for the conversion of larger buildings to flats and for redevelopment of whole sites, which in turn has not always reflected well on the historic environment of the town. Given the evidence for such change, it is considered to be good practice to periodically review the performance of the conservation area. In the case of Penarth (which was subject to the first Appraisal undertaken in the Vale of Glamorgan, and one of the first in Wales), this is now well overdue and comes at the end of a two year process which has involved all of the thirty nine conservation areas in the Council’s area. This document is designed to focus on issues which are arising in the management of the conservation area and to encourage constructive dialogue concerning a range of contemporary issues. These include, the: - design and quality of new development - appropriate repair of historic buildings and boundary walls - neglect of key sites - performance of the Article 4 Direction - need for enhancement of streets and public spaces 3 Introduction and Background - Introduction - The Effects of Designation - Process and Preparation of the Appraisal - Planning Policy Framework - Summary of Special Interest - Location and Setting - Historic Development and Archaeology 1 Penarth Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Introduction The Penarth Conservation Area was designated in August 1971 by the former Glamorgan County Council in recognition of the special architectural and historic interest of the town. The boundaries were amended in March 1978 by the former Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council and again in 1997 by the Vale of Glamorgan Council. The 1971, 1976 and 1997 boundaries are all shown at Appendix 4. Having designated the Conservation Area, the local authority has a statutory duty to ensure that the character of the area be preserved or enhanced. It is therefore necessary to define and analyse those qualities that contribute to, or detract from, the special interest of the area, and to assess how they combine to justify the area’s special designation as a Conservation Area. The Council prepared an Appraisal in 1994 which was adopted in 1996 and has served usefully as a planning tool in the intervening period. However, the existing document is now considered to be out of date and does not reflect current good practice in terms of Conservation Area management. The Penarth Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan builds upon policy set out by the Welsh Government in Planning Policy Wales (2011) and Circular 61/96, and local policy included in the Vale of Glamorgan Adopted Unitary Development Plan (1996 – 2011). This document provides a firm basis on which applications for development within, and close to the Penarth Conservation Area can be assessed. The document is divided into two parts, Part 1 (The Conservation Area Appraisal) and Part 2 (The Conservation Area Management Plan). The Appraisal records and analyses the various features that give the Penarth Conservation Area its special architectural and historic interest. These features are noted, described, and marked on the Conservation Area Appraisal Map along with written commentary on how they contribute to the special interest of the conservation area. There is a presumption that all of these features should be “preserved or enhanced”, as required by the legislation. The Management Plan is based upon the negative factors and summary of issues identified in Part 1 and sets out proposals and policies which can enhance the character and appearance of the Penarth Conservation Area. The recommendations include proposals for enhancement and policies for the avoidance of harmful change. The Management Plan is written in the awareness that in managing the Vale’s conservation areas the Council’s resources are limited and therefore need to be prioritised. Financial constraints on the Council mean that proposals for which it is responsible may take longer than is desirable to implement. However, the Council will continue to encourage improvements to the Conservation Area in co-operation with property owners, groups and local businesses. The document is intended for use by planning officers, developers and landowners to ensure that the special character is not eroded, but rather preserved and enhanced through development activity. While the descriptions go into some detail, a reader should not assume that the omission of any building, feature or space from this appraisal means that it is not of interest; if in doubt, please contact the Vale of Glamorgan Council - contact details can be found at the end of this document. The survey work for this appraisal was undertaken between April and June 2010. To be concise and readable, the appraisal does not record all features of interest. 1 Planning Policy Wales Technical Advice Note 12: Design 2 Welsh Office Circular 61/96 Planning and the Historic Environment: Historic Buildings and Conservation Areas 4 Penarth Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan The Effects of Designation This Appraisal/Management Plan has been prepared in compliance with Section 69(2) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation) Areas Act, 1990. The consequences of designation are summarised as follows: - the Council has a general duty to ensure the preservation and enhancement of the Penarth Conservation Area in the determination of planning applications; - six weeks notice needs to be given to the Council before works are carried out to certain trees not subject to tree preservation orders (those over 7.5cm in diameter measured 1.5 metres above the ground); - conservation area consent is needed for the demolition of any unlisted building in the conservation area (subject to certain exemptions in terms of size some very minor buildings may be excluded from this provision); - the details as to the limits regarding the works (such as extensions) which may be carried out without the benefit of planning permission are stricter; - extra publicity is given to planning applications. In practice, a principal involvement of the Council in the management of the conservation area is through its duty to advise on, consider and respond to planning applications for new development. These are normally subject to closer scrutiny from a design perspective and may as a result often require a greater level of explanatory information and presentation. Dependent upon size of a proposal, an application may also be referred to the Council’s Conservation Area Advisory Group, an independent forum which makes recommendations to the Council’s Planning Committee regarding a number of issues regarding the management of conservation areas in the Vale of Glamorgan The Council also makes an important contribution to the appearance of the conservation area in: - the management of the public estate (e.g. parks, open spaces and its own buildings); - fulfilling its statutory obligations as highway authority (e.g. in the maintenance of highways, traffic management, verges, ditches, drains, hedges and in the provision of street furniture, signs and lighting); - As a service provider (e.g. education). 5 Penarth Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Process of Preparation of the Appraisal Involving the community (and thereby raising public awareness) has been an integral part of the Appraisal process. This has been beneficial in two respects.