Agenda Item 8. Report No CC/19/21 HIGHLAND COUNCIL Committee: Caithness Committee Date: 12 August 2021 Draft Wick Pulteneytown Conservation Area Appraisal and Report Title: Conservation Area Management Plan Report By: Executive Chief Officer Infrastructure, Environment & Economy 1 Purpose/Executive Summary 1.1 The report presents the post-consultation draft (Appendices 1 & 2) of the Conservation Area Appraisal (CAA) and Conservation Area Management Plan (CAMP) (including boundary amendments) for Wick Pulteneytown and asks that this Committee recommend that the Infrastructure, Environment and Economy Committee approve the reports. 2 Recommendations 2.1 Members are asked to:- i. Note the public comments and agree the Council response; and ii. Recommend that the Infrastructure, Environment & Economy Committee formally approve and adopt the Wick: Pulteneytown Conservation Area Appraisal (Appendix 1) and Management Plan (Appendix 2), including the amended conservation area boundary, at a forthcoming meeting. 3 Implications 3.1 Resource - The proposed boundary amendments will bring a number of properties into the Conservation Area and therefore under stricter planning control. There is therefore potential for the amended boundary to generate a small number of additional planning applications, although this is not expected to be significant. 3.2 Legal - The Council has a statutory duty to formulate and publish proposals for the preservation, management and enhancement of its Conservation Areas. The adoption of these reports will discharge this duty in relation to the Wick: Pulteneytown conservation area. There are no other legal implications. 3.3 Community (Equality, Poverty and Rural) implications - The CAA and CAMP highlight Buildings at Risk, underused and vacant buildings, inappropriate or negative development and public realm works, poorly managed green space and areas that should be targeted for future regeneration. Improving the built environment can have wide-ranging benefits across the local community, including generating a sense of civic pride, investment and tourism and improving sense of place. 3.4 There are no Climate Change / Carbon Clever implications arising directly from this report. 3.5 Risk - Although conservation area designation places a range of statutory duties on the Local Authority, in this case the CAA and CAMP reviews, revises and refines an existing designation. There are no new risk implications associated with the recommendations of this report. 3.6 Gaelic - In line with Council policy, Gaelic headings are included throughout. 4 Background 4.1 The Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 provides the current legislative framework for Conservation Areas. Under the 1997 Act, the Council has a statutory duty to determine which parts of their area merit Conservation Area status and the Council is required by law to protect Conservation Areas from development that would be detrimental to their character. 4.2 The 1997 Act defines a Conservation Area as “an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance”. The 1997 Act places a statutory duty on the Council to formulate and publish proposals for the preservation, management and enhancement of Conservation Areas. These are referred to as Conservation Area Character Appraisals and Management Plans. 4.3 Two small Conservation Areas were designated in Pulteneytown by Caithness County Council in 1970. These were Argyle Square and Harbour Place/Terrace. Following a review in 2000, those areas were incorporated into the larger Wick Pulteneytown Conservation Area. The draft reports (attached as appendices) are the result of the first formal review undertaken of the Conservation Area since this designation, and the first time an appraisal and management plan have been developed for Pulteneytown. 4.4 The Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan were drafted by a conservation- accredited conservation architect on behalf of the Council. Council officers from across the planning service (including the conservation officer and planning officers from both the development plans and development management teams) have been involved throughout the process, as has a diverse stakeholder group established to inform the direction of the reports. Both have been instrumental in developing the final draft as presented at this committee. 4.5 Members supported the proposal that the draft Wick Pulteneytown Conservation Area Appraisal for a 6-week public consultation at their Ward Business Meeting (WBM) dated 21 January 2021. 5 Consultation Process 5.1 The public consultation was launched via The Council’s consultation portal on 28 January 2021 and was due to close on 12 March 2021. This was widely publicised, with a public notice placed in the Northern Times and the John O’Groats Journal, promoted social media posts and notification, by letter, to all properties (totalling 612) within the existing and proposed Conservation Area boundary. Other agencies, including Historic Environment Scotland, as part of a stakeholder group, were also invited to comment. 5.2 The stakeholder group, consisting of representatives from the Council (including local Members), Community Council, Wick Heritage Society, Wick Harbour Trust, Caithness Chamber of Commerce, Caithness Voluntary Group, Argyle Square Community Association, Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm, Wick Nucleus Archive Centre, key business contacts and Members of the North Planning Applications Committee, were all notified of the consultation, invited to share the consultation within their own contacts, and asked to comment. 5.4 Due to Covid-19, the draft documents were not available as paper copies and public events were not permissible during the consultation period (NB pre-consultation face-to- face public events were held at Mackay’s Hotel, Wick in late 2019). To counteract this, the consultation period was extended from six to ten weeks in response to stakeholder feedback. Following a request from the Community Council six printed copies were requested and posted to residents. 6 Consultation Response: Wick Harbour Authority 6.1 At the request of Councillor Mackie, an online meeting was arranged with the Wick Harbour Authority (HA), who had expressed concern regarding the proposed inclusion of the harbour area within the amended conservation area boundary. The meeting was attended by HA representatives and their solicitor and HC officers from the Historic Environment and Planning Teams. It was acknowledged by all that the harbour is central to the past, present and future of the area and a key component of Pulteneytown. The principle concerns raised were the implications of the conservation area designation for future development opportunities, the potential curtailing of permitted development rights (via Article 4 Directions) and the ability to continue to operate the harbour and deliver on its commercial interests with the same level of autonomy as currently enjoyed. 6.2 Although reassurances were given by HC officers that the conservation area would have minimal impact on the day-to-day operations of the harbour, the Wick Harbour Authority, via their legal representative, made a formal representation to object to the proposed inclusion of the harbour within the conservation area for reasons set out above. 6.3 Further efforts to resolve the objection were made, including undertaking a retrospective assessment of planning applications submitted within the harbour from the past 20 years to establish what affect the conservation area would have had on previous decisions. The reassessment indicated that none of the applications would have resulted in a substantially different outcome. Additionally, written assurances that Article 4 Directions (to restrict existing permitted development rights) would not be imposed by the Planning Authority in respect of the harbour were insufficient to allay concerns that such directions could still be applied in the future. The HA therefore have chosen to maintain their objection in respect of including the land controlled by the HA within the amended conservation area boundary. 6.4 Proposed Council Response: All stakeholders, including the Wick Harbour Authority, recognise that the harbour is a key historic and architectural component of Pulteneytown and as such inclusion within the amended conservation area boundary would be justifiable in accordance with the criteria set out in the 1997 Act. It has also been demonstrated that the designation of the harbour would have no significant detrimental implications for its management, or the operations of the HA, and the wide-ranging permitted development rights currently enjoyed under the relevant Planning and Harbours Acts would continue to apply. However, this also means that opportunities to control future development within the harbour and opportunities to ensure that such development preserves or enhances the character and appearance of the harbour area would also be minimal; conservation area designation of the harbour would result in very few additional controls, safeguards, benefits or opportunities. On balance, therefore, it is proposed to remove the harbour area from the proposed amended conservation area but to seek to work more closely with the HA in future and to provide advice and guidance in areas where positive outcomes for the adjacent conservation area can be achieved. The HA have been advised that it will be recommended to Members