MARTON VILLAGE and THE GROVE CONSERVATION AREA: CHARACTER APPRAISAL AND MANAGEMENT PLAN Stokesley Road, Marton, Middlesbrough November 2005 MARTON VILLAGE and THE GROVE CONSERVATION AREA: CHARACTER APPRAISAL Contents: 1. Introduction page 2 Part I: Character Appraisal 2. Conservation Area Designation and Boundary page 5 3. Historical Origins and Development page 8 4. Archaeology page 14 5. Activities and Uses page 14 6. Townscape Character Analysis page 15 7. Architectural Character: Marton Village page 17 8. Architectural Character: The Grove page 21 9. Prevailing Materials and Local Traditions page 27 10. Natural Heritage page 29 11. Setting page 32 12. Views and Vistas page 34 13. Negative and Neutral Factors page 36 14. Issues and Threats page 37 15. Preservation and Enhancement page 38 Part 2: Management Plan 16. Management Plan page 39 Maps and Appendices Appendix 1 Middlesbrough Local Plan Policies page 47 Appendix 2 Schedule of Addresses within the proposed Conservation Area page 49 Appendix 3 Listed Buildings Text descriptions page 50 Aerial view Map 1: Proposed boundary and sub-areas Map 2: Conservation Area Buildings Map 3: Green Character Map 4: Setting and Key Views 1 MARTON VILLAGE and THE GROVE CONSERVATION AREA: CHARACTER APPRAISAL AND MANAGEMENT PLAN 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Conservation Areas: Planning and Legal Framework Conservation Areas were first introduced by the Civic Amenities Act 1967. The Act has now been incorporated and expanded into the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 which provides the statutory basis for planning control within Conservation Areas. This current Act imposes a duty on the local planning authority to designate Conservation Areas (where appropriate) and to bring forward policies and proposals for the preservation and enhancement of such areas. Under Section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, Local Planning Authorities have a duty to designate as Conservation Areas, “Any areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance” and to review these areas from time to time. Section 71 of the Act places a duty on local planning authorities to ‘formulate and publish proposals for the preservation and enhancement of conservation areas.’ 1.2. Purpose and Objectives of a Conservation Area Appraisal The purpose of a Conservation Area Character Appraisal is to ‘clearly identify what it is about the character or appearance of the area which should be preserved or enhanced, and set out the means by which that objective is to be pursued’, and it is hoped that ‘clear assessment and definition of an areas special interest and the action needed to protect it will help to generate awareness and encourage local property owners to take the right sort of action for themselves’. (Planning Policy Guidance Note 15 [PPG15]: Planning and the Historic Environment 4.9) 2 1.3. Conservation Area Designation The appraisal has been prepared using guidance contained within PPG15 and English Heritage’s guidance on Conservation Area Appraisals. The aim of this Conservation Area Character Appraisal is to: Improve the understanding of the history and the historical context, of this area of Middlesbrough To suggest and justify the boundary of the proposed Conservation Area Generate awareness of exactly what it is about the proposed Conservation Area that makes it of ‘special interest’. Provide residents, businesses and property owners with a clear idea of what it is about the proposed Conservation Area that should be cared for and preserved. In addition the Appraisal is supported by a Management Plan which puts forward policies and proposals for the preservation and enhancement of the proposed Conservation Area. This Plan will; Provide residents, businesses and property owners with a clear idea of what enhancements could made be made to the Conservation Area. Provide Middlesbrough Council with a valuable development control and planning policy tool with which to inform the future care and development of the area. The Appraisal is not intended to be wholly comprehensive in its content and failure to mention any particular building, feature or space should not be assumed to imply that they are of no interest. 3 This Appraisal should be read in conjunction with the Middlesbrough Local Plan and national policy guidance, particularly PPG 15. These documents provide more detailed information on local and national policy relating to conservation areas. Local Plan policies relevant to Conservation Areas are described in Appendix 1. The recommendation of this study is to progress towards the designation of Marton Village and the Grove Conservation Area subject to a process of internal and public consultation. 4 PART 1: CHARACTER APPRAISAL 2. CONSERVATION AREA JUSTIFICATION AND BOUNDARY 2.1. Justification Marton Village and The Grove are distinct character areas, which are put forward for Conservation Area status for differing reasons. Marton Village is the surviving historic core of the pre-industrial village of Marton. The Grove, which grew out of the Bolckow estate in the early twentieth century, is Middlesbrough’s best example of a pre-1939 suburb. The two are linked through sharing a common origin and history. Although central to the story of Marton Village and The Grove, Stewart Park has not been included due to important losses such as Bolckow’s mansion and the north-west lodge as well as later alterations to the parkland. The park does, however, have adequate protection through its Primary Open Space status and Tree Protection Orders, and its surviving historic buildings have listed status. It is considered that Marton Village and the Grove meets the essential criteria for conservation area designation described in paragraph 1.1 for the following reasons; the special interest relates to the area of Marton Village and The Grove and not merely to its individual buildings, Marton Village has good quality architecture which contributes to local distinctiveness whilst The Grove has a diversity of buildings and a layout and townscape which also contributes to local distinctiveness, the area has special historic interest. The Grove illustrates a significant phase of the town’s history and development and Marton Village through its connections with Captain Cook and the Bolckow family has associations with historic event and people of regional and national significance, and due to its uniqueness within Middlesbrough it is desirable to preserve the specific layout and built character of The Grove and to preserve and enhance the historic character of Marton Village. 2.2. Location Marton Village and The Grove proposed Conservation Area is located approximately 5 miles south of Middlesbrough town centre. The population of Marton Ward within which it lies at the 2001 census was approximately 4,866. This accounts for approximately 3.6% of Middlesbrough’s total population. 2.3. Current Local Plan Designations There are no statutory Development Plan designations within the village core. However, Stewart Park to the north of the proposed conservation area boundary is designated as Primary Open Space and as Green Wedge in the Middlesbrough Local Plan. Marton Village contains 4 listed buildings, including St. Cuthbert’s Church, and there are 5 listed tombstones located within the churchyard. There are no listed buildings in The Grove sub-area. Most of the trees to the east of Stokesley Road in Marton Village and within the whole of The Grove are covered by individual or area Tree Preservation Orders dating from 1986 (see map 3). 2.4. Proposed Boundary The proposed Marton Village and Grove Conservation Area is formed from two sub areas (shown on map 1). Each has its own distinctive character but is part of a coherent whole; Marton Village covers the core of the original village of West Marton focusing on St Cuthbert’s Church and a number of 18th and 19th Century buildings along Stokesley Road, and The Grove covers in its entirety the early 20th Century suburb from Marton Village to Ladgate Lane at its northern end. Where characteristics differ significantly the analysis within this Appraisal deals separately with the two sub-areas. 1 Marton Village Sub-Area The northern boundary of Marton Village takes in the Stewart Park western lodge and a corner of green space from Stewart Park, cutting across Stokesley Road to the west taking in St Cuthbert’s Church and grounds. The boundary then moves south behind the church grounds taking in Westside House and an area of open space to the south of the house. The boundary then moves east taking a row of cottages (including the back lane and ancillary outhouses) on the west side of Stokesley Road. The boundary briefly follows Stokesley Road to the south taking in numbers 15 and 15a before moving east of Marton Country Club. The boundary takes in Marton Methodist church, the Memorial Garden at the bottom of The Grove plus numbers 8 - 12 ‘The Village’ to the south of the Memorial Garden. The boundary of this sub-area then moves north across the Grove, excluding the bulk of properties along South Drive, to take in the Captain Cook School House and grounds and the modern buildings on the east side of Stokesley Road. The Grove Sub-Area The boundary of The Grove includes the cul-de-sac of South Drive and takes in all those properties fronting the Grove east of Marton Village where long plots laid out in the early 20th Century developed. The boundary follows the rear of these properties on both sides of the Grove and includes those post war properties where they front the Grove. The undeveloped open ground south of Stewart Park and its east lodge is included whilst the post war developments of Roseland and Cleveland Drive with a different plot layout are excluded. The boundary follows the rear curtilages on both sides of the Grove northwards across the eastern entrance to Stewart Park as far as and including 100 The Grove, but excludes Marton railway station which contains nothing of merit.