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Creaton Conservation Area

Consultation Meeting 7th December 2020 District Council

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Rhian Morgan – Heritage Policy Officer

Anna Wilson – Heritage Policy Assistant

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Conservation Areas in Daventry

• District wide conservation areas review- including • Designated 1973 • Last reviewed in 1997 • First opportunity in over twenty years to appraise the conservation area

The district council has a statutory duty to undertake conservation area reviews, both of its existing conservation areas as well as exploring the possibility of new designations, so a district-wide review is currently being undertaken which includes Creaton.

Conservation areas form some of the most architecturally and historically interesting settlements in the district and Creaton certainly falls into that category with its variety of historic buildings, the historic layout of the village around The Green and its rural setting.

Creaton was first designated as a conservation area in 1973 and last reviewed in 1997. So in Creaton’s case it’s over 20 years since the last review and therefore a good opportunity to look at the current boundary to see if it’s fit for purpose or if there are any areas that have changed during that period which means they no longer merit being in the conservation area. We’ve also looked at whether there are areas of the village that are now considered to be worth including in the conservation area and whether the boundary should be extended. As well as reviewing the boundary we’ve also produced a draft conservation area appraisal and management plan (see below).

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Introduction to Conservation Areas

• Conservation areas are “areas of special architectural or historic interest” • Now designated through the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 • Over 10,000 designated nationwide since 1967 (Civic Amenities Act) • Conservation areas cover areas with varying character • Character and appearance are influenced by lots of variables • Different planning regulations which seek to “preserve or enhance” character or appearance

• Conservation areas are areas of “special architectural or historic interest” which are designated by local planning authorities through the planning (LBCA) act 1990 • Over 10,000 conservation areas have been designated nationwide since they were first created in 1967 as part of the civic amenities act • Conservation areas have been designated over many different types of area, including residential, industrial, commercial and landscape areas and vary in size from a handful of buildings to many hectares of countryside • Character is created and influenced by many factors, including land use, age of buildings or consistent use of open spaces, the use of particular materials or styles or the impact of fortuitous or purposeful design. • For properties located within the conservation area it does introduce some additional planning controls that ‘seek to enhance or preserve’ the character or appearance of the area (see below).

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Creaton Conservation Area Character The character of the Creaton Conservation Area is greatly influenced by:

• The significant age of its built environment, with many buildings dating to between the 17th-19th centuries • The evidence of its historic village layout, including surrounding areas of archaeological interest • The consistent use of vernacular building materials for both dwellings and boundary treatments • The influence of open spaces, in particular The Green which is an integral part of the medieval settlement layout and a focal point of today’s village. • Creaton’s location on a slope rising up to the top of a ridge, enabling views of the countryside

The character of Creaton’s conservation area is influenced by a number of factors which include:

• The significant age of many of its buildings, which largely date to between the 17th and 19th centuries. • The evidence of its historic village layout, including surrounding areas of archaeological interest • The consistent use of vernacular building materials for both dwellings and boundary treatments such as honey-coloured ironstone, red brick, slate roof tiles and thatch. • And the influence of open spaces, in particular The Green which is an integral part of the medieval settlement layout and a focal point of today’s village. • The location of the Creaton on a slope rising up to the top of a ridge, which gives extensive views of the surrounding countryside from various points around the village.

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Planning in Conservation Areas

• Controls over: • Demolition of buildings • Development works inc. building or demolishing walls, gates or fences; cladding; alterations to roofing; side and rear extensions; outbuildings; installing radio antennae • Works to trees • Planning applications determined with reference to published guidance and any other material considerations, such as an adopted Conservation Area Appraisal

Conservation area status introduces some additional planning controls and these cover: • The demolition of buildings • Development works including building or demolishing walls, gates or fences; cladding; alterations to roofing; side and rear extensions; outbuildings; installing radio antennae. • Works to trees that are over a particular size, although for trees there’s a notification process rather than it being a planning permission. • Planning applications for works that fall within a conservation area are determined with reference to published guidance and any other material considerations, such as an adopted Conservation Area Appraisal.

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Existing Conservation Area

This map shows the current conservation area boundary, which was adopted in 1997, and is the area marked in pink. The buildings marked in red are listed buildings. So the current boundary includes the historic buildings and street pattern of High Street, Violet Lane, the open space of The Green and the historic buildings located around the edges of the The Green.

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Proposed Conservation Area BA1 – Buildings on Welford Road including the row of 18th/19th century cottages

BA2 – Fields north of Creaton Lodge

BA 3 – 3 Litchfield Lane

BA 4 & 5- Church House and 19 High Street

BA 6 – 1-9 Home Farm Close and verge

As a result of the current review several changes to the boundary are being proposed, which are shown in this map. Again, the pink area shows the current boundary but the blue areas to indicate extensions to the boundary.

BA1 is the row of 18th and 19th cottages on Welford Road which contribute to the historic character of the village through their varying form, scale and positioning next to the road. They have potential to further enhance the conservation area as they are on the main approach route to the village.

BA2 incorporates four fields and a large pond north of Creaton Lodge for the contribution they make to the setting and historic character of the conservation area. The fields have ridge and furrow earthworks in them, which provides visual evidence of Creaton’s past link to subsistence agriculture. In the northwest corner of this area there is a pond which is actually a clay extraction pit for an adjacent brickworks, which probably supplied building materials for the brick buildings in the village. This area contains a number of historic landscape features that contribute to the character of the conservation area and an understanding of Creaton’s development.

BA3, 4 and 5 are small areas where there has either been some development or changes to garden boundaries since the current boundary was designated meaning that the boundary now runs through the middle of a building or garden. So these three proposed changes rationalise the boundary and include the building and the gardens for completeness.

BA6 includes nos. 1-9 Home Farm Close within the conservation area. They are a good example of a small-scale development that uses building materials in keeping with the character of the village. Together, the buildings and the wide verges in front of them enhance views as the conservation area is approached along Road and the lane to .

The full details of why these areas are proposed extensions to the conservation area are set out in the Appraisal and Management Plan.

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Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan

• Conservation Area Appraisals contain useful information for applicants and decision makers • Help to express “special interest” i.e what makes up their historic or architectural interest • Include explanation of historic development and current architectural character- identifies what is important to overall character • We also include information on views, open spaces, footpaths, and the public realm

Conservation areas are designated due to their special interest and as part of the review a conservation area appraisal and management plan is produced. These express the special interest and identify what about an area is important, as well as highlighting areas which could benefit from enhancement in the future or any threats to the character of the conservation area.

Conservation area appraisals vary depending on the authority or group producing them, but in general they contain an explanation of the development of the area (its historic interest including any known or possible archaeological interest), information about the architecture (architectural interest expressed through building type, style, materials and age). The appraisals produced by Council also include information on spatial elements which contribute to how the conservation area is experienced, such as views, open spaces and the public realm.

So together this provides useful information for applicants and decision makers.

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Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan cont. • Conservation Area Appraisals = Supplementary Planning Documents • Material consideration • Sit below the “Development Plan” i.e local plans and neighbourhood plans • Used to determine planning decisions alongside development plan and national and local policy

Appraisals are adopted by Daventry District Council as Supplementary Planning Document, which means they are a material consideration in the determining planning decisions which affect the special interest of the conservation area.

Within the hierarchy of documents used to assist the determination of planning decisions Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans sit below what is known as the development plan- i.e the local plan, and any neighbourhood plan which may be in place for the area. They sit alongside Village Design Statements, which are also Supplementary Planning Documents.

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Local List • Local lists are encouraged to identify and celebrate special local heritage • Identification of assets through conservation area appraisals • Not like listed buildings, but the preservation of local list assets is encouraged by national and local policy • Local list assets are can be any type of building or site which has a special interest, such as historic, architectural or archaeological • Assessed against objective criteria adopted by DDC

Part of the work undertaken for the conservation area review is to identify potential candidates for the Local List. Daventry District Council maintains a local list which identifies buildings and sites that are considered to be locally important which do not meet the criteria for statutory listing.

Local lists play an essential role in building and reinforcing a sense of local character and distinctiveness in the historic environment, as part of the wider range of designation. Although local list status doesn’t introduce additional planning restrictions, it does enable the significance of any building or site on the list to be better taken into account in planning applications that affect the building, site or its setting.

Generally, buildings or sites added to the local list are those unlikely to be statutorily designated (like a Listed Building or Scheduled Monument). Instead are recognised as non- designated heritage assets of local importance and given protection through policy rather than legislation.

Local List candidates are identified as part of the fieldwork and research carried out during the conservation area review and they assessed against a set of criteria that have been adopted by the Council. If they meet those criteria they are consulted on and adopted as part of the conservation area appraisal process. Any buildings in Creaton that are being proposed to be added to the Local List will be set out in the appraisal and management plan document. Members of the public can also proposed buildings for inclusion on the Local List. So if there’s a particular building or site that has not been put forward in the draft appraisal members of the public can send in the details and any reasons it should be added to the Local List and it will then be assessed against the criteria for inclusion.

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Article 4(1) Directions

• Used in conservation areas and for local list assets to remove permitted development rights • Not used to stop development altogether • Helps to control development which over time can cause harm to the character or appearance of the area • Proposals submitted with a planning application- determined in the same way as other applications • Proposed in appraisal • Part of a separate process after designation

Conservation area status introduces some extra planning controls but some minor developments such as domestic alterations and extensions can normally be carried out without planning permission under the provisions of the 2015 General Permitted Development Order (GDPO). This can lead to incremental changes taking place that gradually erode aspects of the fabric of historic buildings, their historic character and that of the overall conservation area.

Article 4(1) of the GPDO gives local planning authorities the power to limit these ‘permitted development rights’ where they consider it necessary to protect local amenity or the wellbeing of the area. Using the provisions of Article 4(1) of the GPDO brings certain types of development back under the control of a local planning authority so that potentially harmful proposals can be considered on a case by case basis through planning applications.

So this is another aspect of the work undertaken during the conservation area review where features that would benefit from being included in an Article 4 Direction are identified. If considered appropriate, they are proposed in the conservation area appraisal. This includes the permitted development rights to be removed and the locations affected. However, if the appraisal is adopted by the council this doesn’t bring the Article 4(1) Direction into force. They are put in place through a separate process which would take place after conservation area designation and has a further consultation process.

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Consultation

• Eight weeks • Consultation documents available to view online • Comment online or via post • Hard copies of the document available by post • November 23rd 2020 until January 18th 2021

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After the consultation

• Comments are compiled in a report • Report is presented to Council • Council decide whether to adopt the new boundary and appraisal • All homes within the conservation area are notified of the decision • Conservation area planning controls apply to all designated areas

Once the consultation has closed a report is compiled which includes all the comments received, our response and any resulting changes to the boundary or the Appraisal and Management Plan.

The report is then presented to the Council and it decides whether to adopt the new boundary and the appraisal. Following that decision we write to all properties within the conservation area to notify them. Conservation area planning controls apply to all areas within the designation.

Conservation areas are a national designation created through national legislation so the boundaries and the appraisals and management plans will be carried forward and will continue to be used when Daventry District becomes part of West Council in April 2021.

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Consultation details

10am 23RD NOVEMBER 2020 – 5pm 18TH JANUARY 2021 COMMENTS IN WRITING TO email: [email protected] post: Heritage Policy Officer, Business Team, Daventry District Council, Daventry NN11 4FP www.daventrydc.gov.uk/conservationareas

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Questions from Attendees Question: In 2017 there was a planning appeal in relation to an application for 10 houses on land to the south of Court House Close. The appeal was dismissed by the Inspector on the grounds of the importance of this open area of land for the rural character of Creaton and attractive topographical and natural feature as a backdrop to Courthouse Close and The Jetty and also that it is significance to the form and character of the village. So the question we’ve received is whether the view across this land from the ridge up above where the A5199 runs can be included in the Conservation Area Appraisal as an important view.

Answer: When we are considering views we’re really thinking about them in terms of their contribution to the conservation area whereas the planning inspector would have been looking at the village as a whole so we look at views within the conservation area, out from it and towards it. This area of land is not within the current or the proposed boundary so we couldn’t include it as contributing to views within the conservation area. There is a view highlighted in the appraisal from the churchyard out towards the open countryside, which looks across this land, so it is highlighted in that way. The third way it could be considered for inclusion is whether there are views across this land towards the conservation area from Courthouse Close and also the public footpath that runs northeast from the end of Courthouse Close. So at this point I can’t really give a definitive answer to the question because I think it requires a further site visit to check the views towards the conservation area across that land from those locations I’ve just mentioned. So thank you for bringing that to our attention and that’s something we’ll take another look at as part of the consultation and we’ll report back on the outcome in the report that goes to Council and if necessary make changes to the appraisal document.