Chapter C11: Yarm Conservation Area Appraisal

Chapter C11: Yarm Conservation Area Appraisal Yarm Conservation Area Page YA1 Plan of Yarm Conservation Area showing listed buildings and areas covered by Article 4 Directions Yarm Conservation Area Page YA2 General Overview of Yarm Conservation Area. Yarm is perhaps the Borough’s flagship Conservation Area, having historic importance, architectural value and a good quality urban environment, although there are issues surrounding the public realm in terms of vehicle dominance. Yarm, as a town, is vibrant and flourishing, which has repercussions on the aims of Conservation Area designation and can lead to conflicts between the needs of businesses and Rooftop View looking south over Yarm High Street residents, and the aims of and the Town Hall preserving the historic fabric. However, residents, shoppers and workers in Yarm largely support the preservation of the historic qualities of the town. There are 108 entries in the Register of Buildings of Architectural or Historic Interest (the ‘List’). This covers over 130 buildings and structures within the Conservation Area, as some entries cover a small group of buildings. The structures range from telephone boxes and walls through to the Viaduct, churches and fine imposing town houses. Of the listed structures, just 6 are Listed as Grade II*; • Church of St Mary Magdalene, West Street; • Yarm Bridge; • Number 124 High Street; • The Ketton Ox Public House; • Numbers 10 and 12 (collectively), High Street; • Number 14 High Street. There are no Grade I Listed buildings, but the Town Hall has recently been re- designated from a Scheduled Ancient Monument to a Grade II Listed building as part of a national programme of simplifying heritage protection. Nevertheless, there still remains a very high concentration of important buildings in such a small area, which is seldom seen outside of the great historic cities such as York, Bath and Chester. For such a large and diverse area, Yarm Conservation Area is by and large in good health. Nevertheless, a programme of minor repairs, painting and other environmental improvements would enhance the town in Conservation terms as well as in visual and economic terms. The two major threats to the integrity of the Conservation Area come firstly from the significant development pressure for new ‘executive’ homes, and secondly from the sheer volume of traffic that passes through the town (although the actual volume has remained largely consistent for the last 20 years). The former is Yarm Conservation Area Page YA3 managed through positive Development Control action, however the latter is much more difficult to address due to the prohibitive financial costs involved. History Yarm is situated in the South of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees close to the border with North Yorkshire. The village grew out of its importance as a major road - and later rail - crossing over the River Tees, and remains today the main crossing in the area. The old town of Yarm lies on a peninsula formed by a meander of the river where the water was shallow enough to allow it to be forded. The sides of the north bank of the river valley rise some 30m above the river, while to the south within the meander the land slopes up gently away from the water. This contained the village well within the ‘bowl’ until the Yarm 1890 substantial suburban expansion in the twentieth century. The original town was one of the largest in the Cleveland Area and also one of the wealthiest until Stockton and Middlesbrough grew The severity of the flooding is highlighted on numerous buildings out of their industrial including the Town Hall and ‘Flood significance. The Cottage’, High Church Wynd. wealth of the town was created because of the successful location as a staging point between York and Durham where goods were transferred and traded. Yarm had a key position on an important river crossing, which also happened to be a day’s travel from both York and Newcastle – hence the numerous staging posts and inns. Yarm’s trading reputation grew in the 13th Century as it developed an international port, with links to other Looking north west to Yarm Bridge and Eaglescliffe Yarm Conservation Area Page YA4 UK towns and The Netherlands. For a port town, very little development actually fronted the river; the warehouses in Atlas Wynd are probably the last remaining built evidence of port activity in Yarm. The fact that the town turned its back on the river is probably attributable to the town’s inception primarily as a market place many years before the port, and then reinforced due to the high risk of flooding from the Tees. Initially, the main through route was along West Street to the ford across the Tees, however following the construction of the present day bridge, the focus of the village shifted away from West Street in favour of the High Street and market place. The Town Centre as it stands today dates mainly from the 1780’s and 1790’s when a surge of building took place on a largely speculative basis. Housing was not taken up until around 1811 when the bridge was widened and ‘modernised’, allowing the town to grow rapidly in importance. Today the market no longer visits the High Street, and the emphasis has switched to more permanent shops that have been converted from the grand town houses. However the market charter still exists which would allow the market to return to Yarm if circumstances would permit it. Yarm 1950 In the past, the highest value land was in the town centre, and it was also the most desirable place to live. Therefore the buildings fronting the High Street were large homes for the wealthy and important merchants and traders. The buildings are of the highest quality, although many become less grand and imposing on rear elevations. Both buildings here demonstrate the Character Areas grandeur of the frontage with the This courtyard to the rear significantly less imposing side of the High Street elevations. highlights the much lower architectural and material quality of the buildings on rear elevations. Yarm Conservation Area Page YA5 Wynds The Wynds (pronounced “Weends”) emanating from the High Street at right angles are composed of smaller dwellings of lesser importance and quality. In the Wynds the buildings were small and therefore over the years have been subject to numerous extensions and alterations, often creating complex elevations and internal organisation. The Wynds have become popular again as Yarm’s profile has been raised. Now some of the more expensive property is to be found in the Wynds, possibly due to the fact that many properties in the Wynds retain internal period features because gentrification was less common here. Infilling vacant plots of land with new The Wynds have evolved in a less housing development has also taken place sympathetic or stylish manner than the with varying degrees of success. High Street. West Street Following the construction of Yarm Bridge, West Street’s importance deteriorated rapidly as the focus shifted towards the High Street as the new major route. The area fell into decline, which worsened with the coming of the railway and the construction of the viaduct that effectively severed the land from the rest of the town. It was redeveloped over many years in a piecemeal fashion and now displays a multitude of different housing styles ranging from traditional railway cottages to substantial modern detached houses. This part of the Conservation Area is designated more for its historic significance than its architectural and aesthetic value, however some recent building projects have attempted to conform to the character of the High Street with The piecemeal redevelopment of West Street has varying degrees of success. led to an eclectic mix of house sizes and types. Yarm Conservation Area was designated in 1972 for the historic significance outlined above, as well as the town’s architectural quality and intricate physical form that has evolved over many years. The second part of this study describes the ‘character’ of Yarm Conservation Area in terms of land use, urban form, building design and materials. The Conservation Area was originally designated Yarm Conservation Area Page YA6 as ‘outstanding’, a national designation which has since been removed but demonstrates the original importance. Surroundings and Boundary Review The existing Conservation Area boundary is generally well defined, following natural and obvious lines and features. There have been a number of boundary reviews in the past which have resulted only in minor changes, save for the inclusion of Yarm School in 1996. Having considered a number of proposals for changes to the boundary, it has been decided that there is no justification for further large-scale additions to the Conservation Area to the south. However, two minor changes are proposed. On the north and east sides, the Conservation Area is bounded by the River Tees, the most logical and defensible Eastern bank of the Tees looking to Egglescliffe on the opposite bank. boundary. The river, by its very nature, ensures that the setting of the Conservation Area will not be damaged by unsympathetic development. The north and east boundaries are given further protection from insensitive development that may affect its setting, by the additional controls in force from Egglescliffe Conservation Area (subject to a different Conservation Area study) where it abuts Yarm Conservation Area, and Local Plan Policy EN14: ‘Green Wedge’ that covers the floodplain and the river banks all around the meander (policy text is shown in Appendix 2). The western boundary is also defined by the River Tees. The land on the far bank is outside the defined limits to development, and therefore subject to Policy EN13 which limits development here to that which has an essential need for a The Viaduct clearly dominates the view of the town when viewed from west over the floodplain.

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