Bute Town (Drenewydd) Conservation Area Character Appraisal
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Caerphilly County Borough Council Bute Town (Drenewydd) Conservation Area Character Appraisal July 2013 1. Introduction 1.1 Bute Town was built to a high standard between 1825-30 by the Marquess of Bute as three rows of terraced workers’ housing on an exposed and isolated site at the head of the Rhymney Valley. It is located just south of the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road and is four miles east of Merthyr Tydfil. It is on the foothills of the Brecon Beacons overlooking the upper reaches of the River Rhymney. Following the demolition of much early industrial workers’ housing in South Wales and the early 1970’s, Bute Town today has an exceptional significance as a rare surviving example of one of the earliest planned, and best preserved, industrial workers’ housing development in South Wales. In order to protect the unique architectural and historical nature of the area, Bute Town was designated a Conservation Area on 20th October 1972 at the same time as being declared a General Improvement Area. The group were also subsequently listed by Cadw under section 54 of the 1971 Town and Country Planning Act, as grade II buildings of special architectural or historic interest on 24th July 1973. 1.2 This Bute Town Character Appraisal builds upon policy set out by the Welsh Government in Planning Policy Wales, Circulars 61/96 and 1/98 and development plan policy contained in the Caerphilly County Borough Local Development Plan (LDP) (Adopted November 2010). 1.3 This Character Appraisal has been recently prepared as a Review of the conservation area and to be read as a follow-on document in conjunction with the Butetown Conservation Area Enhancement Plan and Conservation Area Design Guide that were both adopted by Council in August 2005; the preparation and publication of which is required as set out in Section 71 (1-3) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation) Areas Act 1990. The consequences of which are summarised as follows: It shall be the duty of a local planning authority from time to time to formulate and publish proposals for the preservation and enhancement of any parts of their area which are conservation areas. Proposals under this section shall be submitted for consideration to a public meeting in the area to which they relate. The local planning authority shall have regard to any views concerning the proposals expressed by persons attending the meeting. 1.4 The local planning authority is under a general duty to ensure that in conservation areas, in the exercise of its planning functions, special attention shall be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of that area. Notice must be given to the local authority before works are carried out to any tree in the area. 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 of what works may be carried out without planning permission are somewhat different, and Extra publicity is given to planning applications affecting conservation areas and the planning authority is to take into account the desirability of preserving and enhancing the character of the area when determining such applications. The making of Article 4 Directions, limiting permitted development rights, is more straightforward. Limited financial assistance under the Historic Buildings Grant programme may be available from Cadw for the upkeep of a building in the area, The local authority may be able to take steps to ensure that a building in a conservation area is kept in good repair. 2. Purpose of this document 2.1 Having designated Bute Town as a conservation area, the Local Authority has a statutory duty to ensure that the character and appearance of the area is preserved or enhanced, and is protected from inappropriate development. 2.2 This Character Appraisal records and analyses the various features that have attributed to the area’s special architectural and historical interest and is intended for use by planning officers, developers, residents and land owners to ensure that the character and appearance is not eroded, but rather preserved or enhanced through development activity and regular maintenance and repair. 3. Policy Background National Planning Policies 3.1 Conservation Areas are designated under the provisions of Section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act, 1990. A conservation area is defined as “ an area of special architectural or historic interest the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance”. It is the quality and interest of an area, rather than that of individual buildings, which is the prime consideration in identification. Part of the conservation area (excluding the area to the north of Collins Row) is subject to an Article 4 Direction with regards to permitted development. The effect is to bring under control some works that would otherwise be carried out by a householder without the need for consent. In such cases some development proposals will first be subject to a planning application. 3.2 Section 72 of the same Act specifies that, in making a decision on an application for development in a Conservation Area, special attention should be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of that area. 3.3 The three rows of terraced housing in Bute Town are grade II listed buildings. A ‘listed’ building is a building, object or structure that has been judged to be of national, historical or architectural interest. Buildings and structures of ‘special architectural or historic interest’ are designated as ‘listed buildings’ under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. Also under Section 7 of this Act listed building consent is required for any works of alteration or extension to be carried out that would affect the character of listed buildings. Caerphilly County Borough Local Development Plan (LDP) 3.4 Reference to the historic environment is made within Strategy Policy 6 (SP6 Place Making) of the Adopted LDP, which requires development proposals to have full regard to the context of local, natural, historic and built environment. Map 3 indicates the boundary of the Conservation Area and provides an overview of other land use designations that are pertinent to the area. Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) 3.5 The Council has a series of other adopted Development Design Guides that need to be taken into account when considering any proposals for development within the Bute Town Conservation Area. Of particular relevance are: LDP 6 - Building Better Places to Live (November 2010); LDP 7 – Householder Development (November 2010). 3.6 There is also a useful series of booklets that have been prepared by Cadw providing summaries of good practice. Of particular relevance here is one such booklet entitled ‘Industrial Workers’ Housing in Wales - Care and Conservation.’ 3.7 Cadw’s ‘Maintenance Matters! Website’ is full of useful advice to owners and occupiers of historic buildings. Expert advice is coupled with photographs and drawings to provide an online guide to maintaining an historic building – what to look for, when and how to keep it in the best possible condition. The best feature of the website is being able to create a customised maintenance plan for a building, which can be used when carrying out regular inspections. By registering on the website, you will be able to store your plan online, update it and create an ongoing maintenance record. 3.8 Cadw also produces some specialised technical advice documents such as ‘Materials and Techniques: Repointing in Lime (2010)’ 3.9 Alongside these Cadw advice and best practice documents, there are a number of Council Public Information leaflets that have been produced to assist in the preservation and enhancement of Conservation Areas. Of particular relevance are: The Conservation and Renewal of Timber Windows (September 2004); Looking after your Old Buildings (September 2004); Pointing with Lime Mortars (September 2004). 4 Context and Historical Background 4.1 Bute Town, known locally as Drenewydd and also New Town, is a small, self-contained community situated just south of the Heads of the Valleys Road (A465). Bute Town, while less than 1 mile from the centre of Rhymney, commands a prominent position and lies within a surprisingly rural setting. At one time, worked-out operational pits surrounded it, but now there is little physical trace of the industrial activity that used to take place here. 4.2 The Settlement of Bute Town was constructed between 1825-30 by the Bute Ironworks Company in order to house workers of the Iron works at the Rhymney (Upper) Furnace – the development was situated a healthy distance from these works. It was conceived as a ‘new town’ comprising of four rows of industrial workers housing that were separated by wide streets or yards – however, only three rows of housing were actually built. Bute Town was formally laid out with a ‘grid-iron’ plan. 4.3 Each row was designed as a strong, balanced, unified and formal architectural composition using Renaissance ‘Palladian’ principles. Each symmetrical row was terminated by a two-storey ‘pavilion’ block and connected by narrower two-storey sub-servient ‘link’ blocks, to the dominant three-storey central ‘barrack’ block. The clarity of the architectural composition and quality of the design were carried through in the details. These included the generous and distinctive roof-scape with very shallow pitches and deeply overhanging eaves. 4.4 Most roofs had a very shallow pitch of 30 degrees, with the exception of the street elevations to the ‘link’ blocks at 40 degrees.