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Most residents
will be aware that the centre of Hartford has been designated a
"Conservation Area".
What is a
Conservation Area? The following is an extract from the VRBC
"Conservation Area Appraisals" document.
"Introduced by
the Civic Amenities Act of 1967, Conservation Areas are now an accepted
part of Town and Country Planning legislation and practice. Local
Planning Authorities are required to identify "areas of special
architectural or historic interest, the character of which it is
desirable to preserve or enhance". Conservation areas are many and
varied. There were more than 9,000 in England by mid 1996.
With the
experience of time, the need to manage these areas has been recognised,
if their special interest, character and appearance are to be retained.
The first task in this process is to define and analyse the special
characteristics that justified the designation of the conservation area.
This is achieved by carrying out Conservation Area Appraisals.
The
Conservation Area Appraisal will provide a basis for development plan
policies and development control decisions, both within and adjacent to
the Conservation Area boundary. Subsequently the appraisal will provide
the basis of proposals for the preservation or enhancement of the area,
including the identification of development opportunities.
The character
of an area depends upon its historic background, the architectural
quality and interest of its buildings, their materials and detailing,
the way they relate to each other, the line of the highway, the quality
of the landscape, trees and open spaces and a variety of unique
features.
The
Conservation Area Appraisal will provide a description of the elements
that contribute to and define the character of the conservation area.
However it will only be a snapshot in time. There may be important
character variations according to the time of day, day of the week or
time of the year. It will not always be possible to identify and record
these within the constraints of preparing the appraisals. The omission
of any particular building, feature or space should not be taken to
imply that it is of no interest.
Conservation
is not the same as preservation. The designation of a conservation area
does not mean that everything will be preserved, or that there will be
an end to new development. In many cases, the right sort of development
may enhance an area, and will be encouraged.
An important
part of the appraisal process, will be to involve the local community.
It is recognised that these studies are only valid if their content is
understood and accepted by those people who are most closely affected by
the designation of the conservation area. As a result, a public
consultation exercise will take place, providing the opportunity for
contributions to the study and comments on the analysis and proposals.
Following
extensive research into the practice of producing Conservation Area
Appraisals, Vale Royal Borough Council has developed its own approach to
the subject. A list of criteria has been adopted to cover those elements
which have been deemed to be most likely to contribute to the special
character of the conservation areas within the Borough. This enables the
analysis to be undertaken consistently both within and between
conservation areas."
Information
and files on this page have been made available by kind permission of
Vale Royal Borough Council.
Hartford Conservation Area as adopted February 2004
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