Planning Regulations
PPG 15 (Extracts)
Conservation and economic prosperity
1.5 Conservation can itself play a key part in promoting
economic prosperity by ensuring that an area offers attractive living and
working conditions which will encourage inward investment - environmental
quality is increasingly a key factor in many commercial decisions. The historic
environment is of particular importance for tourism and leisure, and Government
policy encourages the growth and development of tourism in response to the
market so long as this is compatible with proper long-term conservation.
Further advice on tourist aspects of conservation is given in PPG 21 and
the English Tourist Board's publication Maintaining
the Balance.
Stewardship: the role of local authorities and
others
1.6 The Government urges local authorities to maintain
and strengthen their commitment to stewardship of the historic environment, and
to reflect it in their policies and their allocation of resources. It is
important that, as planning authorities, they adopt suitable policies in their
development plans, and give practical effect to them through their development
control decisions. As highway authorities too, their policies and activities
should reflect the need to protect the historic environment and to promote
sustainable economic growth, for roads can have a particular impact at all
levels - not only through strategic decisions on the siting
of new roads, but also through the more detailed aspects of road building and
road maintenance, such as the quality of street furniture and surfaces. Above
all, local authorities should ensure that they can call on sufficient
specialist conservation advice, whether individually or jointly, to inform
their decision-making and to assist owners and other members of the public.
1.7 However, the responsibility of stewardship is shared
by everyone - not only by central and local government, but also by business,
voluntary bodies, churches, and by individual citizens as owners, users and
visitors of historic buildings. The historic environment cannot be preserved
unless there is broad public support and understanding, and it is a key element
of Government policy for conservation that there should be adequate processes
of consultation and education to facilitate this.
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2. Development Plans and Development Control
2.1 The principal Act (as amended) requires development
plans to include policies for 'the conservation of the natural beauty and
amenity of the land' and for 'the improvement of the physical environment'. The
Town & Country Planning (Development Plan) Regulations 1991 require
authorities to have regard to environmental considerations in preparing their
plan policies and proposals. The protection of the historic environment,
whether individual listed buildings, conservation areas, parks and gardens,
battlefields or the wider historic landscape, is a key aspect of these wider
environmental responsibilities, and will need to be taken fully into account
both in the formulation of authorities' planning policies and in development
control.
Listed building consent for works already
executed
3.42 Section 8(3) of the Act allows listed building
consent to be sought even though the works have already been completed.
Applications for consent to retain such works should follow the same procedures
as other listed building consent applications and should contain sufficient
information (see Annex B paragraph B.3). Local planning authorities should not
grant consent merely to recognise a fait accompli;
they should consider whether they would have granted consent for the works had
it been sought before they were carried out, while having regard to any
subsequent matters which may be relevant. If the work is not of a suitable type
or standard, consent should not normally be given, and the risk of prosecution
or enforcement action will remain. If consent is granted, it is not
retrospective; the works are authorised only from the
date of the consent. A prosecution may still be brought for the initial
offence.
Enforcement
3.43 If work is carried out without consent, a local
planning authority can issue a listed building enforcement notice (section 38).
The notice may (a) require the building to be brought back to its former state;
or (b), if that is not reasonably practicable or desirable, require other works
specified in the notice to alleviate the effects of the unauthorised
works; or (c) require the building to be brought into the state it would have
been in if the terms of any listed building consent had been observed. It was
held in the case of Bath City Council v Secretary of State for the Environment
([1983] JPL 737) that this provision could not be used to secure an improvement
to a listed building compared to its state before the unauthorised
works were carried out. There is a right of appeal to the Secretary of State
against a notice; the appeal procedures are generally similar to those for
enforcement of development control following the Planning and Compensation Act
1991, although there are no provisions equivalent to a planning contravention
notice, nor is there any limitation on the period within which a listed
building enforcement notice must be issued. If works subject to a listed
building enforcement notice are later authorised
under section 8(3), the enforcement notice will cease to have effect in
relation to those works, although the liability to prosecution for an offence
committed before the date of consent remains. Breach of a listed building
enforcement notice is itself an offence, with financial penalties parallel to
those for a breach of listed building control.
Prosecutions
3.44 It is a criminal offence to execute, or cause to be
executed, without first obtaining listed building consent any works for the
demolition, in whole or part, of a listed building or any works of alteration
or extension which would affect its special interest, or to fail to comply with
the terms of any condition attached to a consent (section 9). This includes the
theft of architectural fixtures. The current penalty for conviction in a
magistrates' court is a fine of up to £20,000 or imprisonment for up to
six months (or both), whilst on conviction in the Crown Court an unlimited fine
or a prison sentence of up to two years (or both) may be imposed. In
determining the amount of any fine, a magistrates' court or the Crown Court
must have regard to any financial benefit which has accrued or may accrue from
the offence.
3.45 In proceedings for an offence under section 9 it is
a defence to prove all of the following matters:
(a) that works to the building were urgently necessary in the
interests of safety or health or for the preservation of the building;
(b) that it was not
practicable to secure safety or health or, as the case may be, to preserve the
building by works of repair or works for affording temporary support or
shelter;
(c) that the works carried out were limited to the minimum
measures immediately necessary; and
(d) that notice in
writing justifying in detail the carrying out of the works was given to the
local planning authority as soon as reasonably practicable.
3.46 Anyone - individuals as well as English Heritage and
local planning authorities - can start proceedings. English Heritage and
planning authorities can also seek injunctions for breaches of listed building
control. A prosecution may also be initiated under section 59 where deliberate
damage is caused to a listed building by an owner or his agent, for which
financial penalties are provided.
3.47 Local planning authorities will obviously need to
consider, when faced with a breach of listed building control, whether to take
enforcement action or to prosecute or both. Enforcement may be intrinsically
desirable for the benefit of the building in question, while the work entailed
by enforcement may also represent a sufficient response to the offence.
However, unauthorised work may often destroy historic
fabric the special interest of which cannot be restored by enforcement.
Moreover, well-publicised successful prosecutions can
provide a valuable deterrent to wilful damage to, or
destruction of, listed buildings, and it is the Secretary of State's policy to
encourage proceedings where it is considered that a good case can be sustained.
3.48 Prosecution and enforcement relate to breaches of
listed building control that have already occurred. Where such a breach is
continuing or there is good reason to suppose it is about to occur, authorities
should consider seeking an injunction to stop or prevent it. Since a breach of
listed building control (unlike development control) is itself a criminal
offence, there is no need or statutory provision for stop notices. Authorities
may, of course, find written warnings useful deterrents. Injunctions can be
obtained speedily from the Court even where the actual or expected offender is
not present before the Court, or indeed where his or her identity is not known;
the essential ingredient is to satisfy the Court that the application is
soundly based. In the case of an interim injunction the Court would normally
ask the applicant to compensate the restrained party for any costs the latter
might incur as a result of the interim injunction if the Court refuse to grant a final injunction. Anyone who refuses to
comply with an injunction is in contempt of Court and may be fined or imprisoned
(or both).
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4. Conservation Areas
4.2 It is the quality and interest of areas, rather than
that of individual buildings, which should be the prime consideration in
identifying conservation areas. There has been increasing recognition in recent
years that our experience of a historic area depends on much more than the
quality of individual buildings - on the historic layout of property boundaries
and thoroughfares; on a particular 'mix' of uses; on characteristic materials;
on appropriate scaling and detailing of contemporary buildings; on the quality
of advertisements, shop fronts, street furniture and hard and soft surfaces; on
vistas along streets and between buildings; and on the extent to which traffic
intrudes and limits pedestrian use of spaces between buildings. Conservation
area designation should be seen as the means of recognising
the importance of all these factors and of ensuring that conservation policy
addresses the quality of townscape in its broadest sense as well as the
protection of individual buildings.
4.3 Local planning authorities also have under section
69 a duty to review their areas from time to time to consider whether further
designation of conservation areas is called for. In some districts, areas
suitable for designation may have been fully identified already; and in
considering further designations authorities should bear in mind that it is
important that conservation areas are seen to justify their status and that the
concept is not devalued by the designation of areas lacking any special
interest. Authorities should seek to establish consistent local standards for
their designations and should periodically review existing conservation areas
and their boundaries against those standards: cancellation of designation should
be considered where an area or part of an area is no longer considered to
possess the special interest which led to its original designation.
Use of planning powers in conservation areas
4.14 Section 72 of the Act requires that special
attention shall be paid in the exercise of planning functions to the
desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of a
conservation area. This requirement extends to all powers under the Planning
Acts, not only those which relate directly to historic buildings. The
desirability of preserving or enhancing the area should also, in the Secretary
of State's view, be a material consideration in the planning authority's
handling of development proposals which are outside the conservation area but
would affect its setting, or views into or out of the area. Local planning
authorities are required by section 73 to publish a notice of planning
applications for development which would in their opinion affect the character
or appearance of a conservation area.
4.15 The status now accorded to the development plan by
section 54A of the principal Act makes it particularly important that an
authority's policies for its conservation areas, insofar as they bear on the
exercise of development controls, should be set out in the local plan. There
should also be a clear indication of the relationship between the plan itself
and detailed assessment documents or statements of proposals for particular
conservation areas, making clear that development proposals will be judged for
their effect on the character and appearance of the area as identified in the
assessment document.
4.18 Local planning authorities will often need to ask
for detailed plans and drawings of proposed new development, including
elevations which show the new development in its setting, before considering a
planning application. In addition to adopted local plan policies, it may be
helpful to prepare design briefs for individually important 'opportunity'
sites. Special regard should be had for such matters as scale, height, form,
massing, respect for the traditional pattern of frontages, vertical or
horizontal emphasis, and detailed design (eg. the
scale and spacing of window openings, and the nature and quality of materials).
General planning standards should be applied sensitively in the interests of harmonising the new development with its neighbours in the conservation area.
4.19 The Courts have recently confirmed that planning
decisions in respect of development proposed to be carried out in a conservation
area must give a high priority to the objective of preserving or enhancing the
character or appearance of the area. If any proposed development would conflict
with that objective, there will be a strong presumption against the grant of
planning permission, though in exceptional cases the presumption may be
overridden in favour of development which is
desirable on the ground of some other public interest.
4.20 As to the precise interpretation of 'preserve or
enhance', the Courts have held (South Lakeland DC v Secretary of State for the
Environment, [1992] 2 WLR 204) that there is no requirement in the legislation
that conservation areas should be protected from all development which does not
enhance or positively preserve. Whilst the character and appearance of
conservation areas should always be given full weight in planning decisions,
the objective of preservation can be achieved either by development which makes
a positive contribution to an area's character or appearance, or by development
which leaves character and appearance unharmed.
Advertisement control
4.31 All outdoor advertisements affect the appearance of
the building or the neighbourhood where they are
displayed. The main purpose of the advertisement control system is to help
everyone involved in the display of outdoor advertising to contribute
positively to the appearance of an attractive and cared-for environment. So it
is reasonable to expect that the local planning authority's duty to pay special
attention to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or
appearance of a conservation area will result in practice in applying more
exacting standards when the authority consider whether to grant consent for a
proposed advertisement in such an area.
4.32 In conservation areas it is important for local
planning authorities to be sensitive in the use of their powers under the Town
& Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992, because
many areas include retail and commercial premises, ranging from small corner-shops
to thriving commercial centres. Outdoor advertising
is essential to commercial activity in a free and diverse economy, and the
success of local businesses will usually help owners and tenants of commercial
premises to maintain buildings in good repair and attractive appearance.
4.33 Local planning authorities may wish to adopt
advertisement control policies as part of their duty to formulate and publish
proposals for the preservation and enhancement of conservation areas. Such
policies can inform prospective advertisers about the type of displays likely
to prove acceptable in an area; and they should provide a rational and
consistent basis for decision-making on all advertisement control matters,
including the serving of discontinuance notices.
4.34 Because of the special interest of most conservation
areas, certain categories of 'deemed consent' advertisements which may have a
significant visual impact are not permitted for display in a conservation area
without the local planning authority's specific consent. But a general
prohibition of the display of certain classes of advertisement, or the
withdrawal or limitation of those which may be displayed with deemed consent,
is not usually justified solely because of designation.
4.35 Attention is drawn to the value of education and
co-operation to help prevent unsympathetic advertisements. Local planning
authorities may wish to consider mounting programmes,
in association with local businesses, to promote advertisement policies by
providing advice about the design and siting of
suitable displays which respect the character and appearance of an area (either
by the publication of design guidelines, the mounting of exhibitions, the
setting-up of an advisory service in a Planning Department, or a combination of
these approaches).
4.36 Where a local planning authority has pursued this
approach, but considers that it has not prevented unsuitable or harmful
advertisement displays, the Secretary of State will be prepared to consider
making a direction under regulation 7 of the 1992 Regulations referred to
above, if the authority can justify it. In seeking such additional control,
authorities will be expected to show that they have well-formulated policies
for the display of advertisements in the area and that the vigorous use of
normal powers of control has proved inadequate. Similarly, when considering
whether an advertisement is causing 'substantial injury to amenity', so that
its display should be discontinued, the Secretary of State will particularly
consider any evidence, on appeal, that the authority have acted in accordance
with a well-formulated advertisement control policy.
4.37 Further advice on outdoor advertisement control,
including in conservation areas, is given in PPG 19