Agenda item

To report to the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee the final set of ‘Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plans’ prepared for the Council by Essex Place Services, and for the Committee to agree a recommendation to Cabinet that they be published for consultation.

Earlier on in the meeting, as detailed under Minute 3 above, Councillor Fairley had declared for the public record that she was the Ward Member for Ardleigh.

 

The Committee considered a comprehensive report of the Director (Planning) (A.1) which reported to it the Ardleigh, Great Holland and Tendring Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans prepared for the Council by Essex Place Services, and requested that the Committee agreed a recommendation to Cabinet that they be published for consultation purposes.

 

Alterations to Boundaries

 

Ardleigh

 

It was proposed to revise the boundary to remove the modern residential developments including Picotts Place and other modern dwellings constructed in the land formerly occupied by Ardleigh Hall. The Limes, Church View, Chapel Croft and Forge Court were also proposed for removal from the Conservation Area boundary as they were of low historic interest and made a limited contribution to the character and appearance of the Conservation Area.

 

It was further proposed to extend the boundary to include the Ardleigh Studios (former goods sheds) located to the south of the railway line. Those buildings appeared to be mid-late nineteenth century in origin and contributed positively to the architectural interest and industrial history of the Conservation Area.

 

Minor alterations were also proposed to rationalise the Conservation Area boundary against existing plot boundaries.

 

Great Holland

 

The war memorial on Rectory Road had not been included within the previous boundary. A small extension was therefore recommended to include the monument. It was an unusual memorial, being built of brick and tile, and originally functioned as a drinking fountain. The memorial made a beneficial contribution to the character of the area and had communal, historic and aesthetic value.

 

The 1981 boundary had terminated at the Saltings (number 30 Manor Road). A second extension was recommended to the south-western end of the boundary on Manor Road, to include the Village Hall and the dwelling at number 25 Manor Road. The Village Hall had been constructed in 1909 and historic photographs showed it was a rendered building with a louvered cupola, arch headed windows, a central clock on the main façade and iron brackets supporting the guttering. The building had undergone unsympathetic alterations over the decades, with the tops of the arched window openings being infilled to form square openings, the replacement of the original windows with uPVC and the building finished with pebble-dash render. The original form of the windows was still visible within the render. The iron brackets supporting the guttering still remained, as did the clock, whilst the cupola had been reinstated in 2012. The building had historic and communal value and had a prominent presence in the street scene when looking west down Manor Road from the area in front of the Ship Inn, or from outside the Conservation Area looking east.

 

Opposite the Village Hall was the dwelling at number 25. This was a distinctive, late Victorian detached house, which had its original windows and decorative joinery above ground floor level. It was understood to have been the home of Henry Ratcliffe, who had established a foundry and lawnmower production business on the site of what was now Great Holland Court (off Manor Road) in the late-nineteenth century. Thus, the building was of local architectural and historic interest. The proposed boundary extension excluded the modern development at Great Holland Court and the modern dwellings at 31-35 and 28-26 Manor Road.

 

Tendring

 

It was proposed to revise the boundary to remove the modern residential developments at the east end of Thorpe Road, on the southern side, beyond Holly Tree Cottage. Those dwellings were of limited historic interest and architectural interest and made little contribution to the special interest of the Conservation Area

 

It was also proposed to remove the two large open fields immediately to the south of the modern residential development on Thorpe Road. Whilst the fields contributed to the rural character of the setting of Tendring Village, they did not have a strong historic or functional relationship with historic buildings along The Street and Thorpe Road, nor did they hold any inherent special historic or architectural interest. Those fields did however contain undated archaeological features, which contributed to understanding the historic landscape and activity prior to the settlement of the village. It was therefore, considered that they were better recognised as key elements of the setting of the Conservation Area, providing an appreciation and understanding of the historic development and context of the area.

 

Designated Heritage Assets

 

The Appraisals made note of the listed buildings, scheduled monuments and registered parks and gardens in each Conservation Area.

 

Proposed Non-designated heritage assets

 

There was some overlap between those Appraisals and the Local List project which had been put before Members in October 2022. Each of the Conservation Area Appraisals proposed a number of buildings to be considered on the Council’s Local List.

 

Those buildings had been identified as they were either considered to be good examples of their type or architectural style; were prominent local landmarks; demonstrated use of local materials; or design features; or were connected to local historical events, activities or people; and were all relatively complete in their survival.

 

Ardleigh

 

·      The Hollies

·      Numbers 1-6 The Street and Post Office

·      Hall (west of the Vicarage)

·      The Dairy

·      Numbers 1-3 Chapel Cottages, Colchester Road

·      Number 5 Station Road

·      Tavern House

·      Station House

·      Ardleigh Studios (former goods sheds)

 

Great Holland

 

·      The Ship Inn, Rectory Road

·      Number 25 Manor Road

·      Sea View Rectory Road

·      The Rectory

·      The War Memorial

·      The Village Hall

 

Tendring Village

 

·      New Hall

·      The Village Hall (former National School)

·      Church House

·      The Old Rectory (formerly The Grange)

 

Heritage at Risk

 

No buildings within any of the three Conservation Areas currently featured on the national list of Heritage at Risk published by Historic England.

 

Archaeology

 

Throughout those Conservation Areas there was the potential for a multitude of below-ground heritage assets yet to be discovered. In general, the appraisals promoted a cautious approach to development, which might disturb or destroy those assets.

 

Assessment of significance

 

Each assessment considered the following features:

 

·      Layout

·      Building materials and boundary treatments

·      Listed buildings and non-designated heritage assets.

·      Other buildings

·      Landscaping and open spaces

·      Views

 

Opportunities for Enhancement

 

Ardleigh

 

Inappropriate signage had been identified at some of the commercial properties at the centre of the conservation Area.

 

Great Holland

 

New development in the Great Holland Conservation Area could detract from its special architectural character.

 

Great Holland & Tendring

 

In Tendring village and Great Holland a number of solar panels had been inserted in prominent locations within the Conservation area which detracted from its character.

 

All three Conservation Areas

 

·      In all of the Conservation Areas, inappropriate use of materials including windows and doors was an issue.

·      Also, in all the Conservation Areas no interpretation around heritage features was given.

 

Management Proposals

 

·      Production of a list of local non-designated heritage assets

·      The Council using Article 4 Directions and its enforcement powers within all Conservation Areas.

·      The Council should work closely with the Highways Authority to address street clutter and signage in all three Conservation Areas

·      All three Conservation Areas would benefit from heritage interpretation within the Conservation Area.

·      Tendring village and Great Holland would benefit from the Climate Change and historic environment guidance produced by the County Council.

 

Funding Opportunities

 

·      Heritage Lottery Fund

·      Section 106 Agreements

·      Partnership Schemes in Conservation Areas

 

At the invitation of the Chairman, the Housing & Planning Portfolio Holder (Councillor Baker) and the Chairman of the Planning Committee (Councillor Fowler) addressed this Committee on the subject matter of this item.

 

Councillor Baker praised Officers and the Committee, past and present, for getting the review of all 20 conservation areas completed in only three years since the Council had approved its heritage strategy. He looked forward to seeing this review at Cabinet and he, also, looked forward to seeing the ‘Local Lists’ at some point in the future.

 

Councillor Fowler endorsed Councillor Baker’s comments on the hard work of the Officers and the Committee.

 

It was moved by Councillor Scott, seconded by Councillor Bush and unanimously:-

 

RESOLVED that the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee:

 

a)     endorses the new Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans for Ardleigh (Appendix 1 to item A.1 of the Report of the Director (Planning)), Great Holland (Appendix 2 thereto) and Tendring village (Appendix 3 thereto);

 

b)     recommends to Cabinet that the above documents forming Appendices 1, 2 and 3 be published for consultation with the public and other interested parties; and

 

c)      requests that in the event that future reviews of a Conservation Area or Areas within a Parish or Parishes coincides with that Parish or Parishes or other qualifying bodies formulating a Neighbourhood Plan then that Parish or Parishes or other qualifying bodies will be consulted by Officers at an earlier stage of the review(s) in order that the said Parish or Parishes or other qualifying bodies can take any material considerations arising therefrom forward as part of the Neighbourhood Plan process.