Conservation Areas

What is a Conservation Area?

Local authorities have a responsibility to designate Conservation Areas, which are defined as:

‘an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character and appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance.' – Planning (Listed Buildings & Conservation Areas) Act 1990.

If you live, work or own property in a Conservation Area, certain responsibilities are placed on both you and the council to preserve or enhance that special character and appearance;

-In many cases, permission must be applied for to extend or demolish a part of a property;

-Proposals for new development, signs and advertisements will need to be sensitive to their surroundings, and;

-The council must be notified where works are proposed to prune or fell a tree.

Conservation Areas normally contain a large number of listed buildings. These are either individual buildings or building groups that are of special architectural or historic interest. Anyone who owns or lives near to a listed building should be aware that these are subject to their own special legal protection.

South Staffordshire's Conservation Areas

South Staffordshire currently has 19 conservation areas. Information on each conservation area can be viewed by clicking the links in the table below.

CONSERVATION AREAS	MAP	DOCUMENT
Blymhill	Blymhill Map	Blymhill Document
Brewood	Brewood Map	Brewood Document
Chamberlain's Lane, Penn Common	Chamberlain's Lane, Penn Common Map	Chamberlain's Lane, Penn Common Document
Chillington Estate	Chillington Estate Map	Chillington Estate Document
Codsall and Oaken	Codsall and Oaken Map	Codsall and Oaken Document
Enville Village and Estate	Enville Village and Estate Map	Enville Village and Estate Document
Himley Village and Parkland	Himley Village and Parkland Map	Himley Village and Parkland Document
Kinver	Kinver Map	Kinver Document
Lapley	Lapley Map	Lapley Document
Lower Penn	Lower Penn Map	Lower Penn Document
Pattingham	Pattingham Map	Pattingham Document
Penkridge	Penkridge Map	Penkridge Document
Shropshire Union Canal	No Map	Shropshire Union Canal Document
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal	No Map	Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Document
Stourbridge Canal	No Map	Stourbridge Canal Document
Trysull and Seisdon	Trysull and Seisdon Map	Trysull and Seisdon Document
Weston-under-Lizard Village and Estate	Weston-under-Lizard Map	Weston-under-Lizard Document
Wheaton Aston	Wheaton Aston Map	Wheaton Aston Document
Wombourne	Wombourne Map	Wombourne Document

The smallest conservation area is the one at Chamberlain's Lane, Penn Common. This adjoins the Vicarage Road & Woodlands Conservation Area of Wolverhampton City Council. Similarly, the Weston-under-Lizard Conservation Area extends southwards beyond both the District and County boundary into Shropshire and Tong Parish. Three of the conservation areas cover lengths of canal and these only relate to those portions of the lines within South Staffordshire. The remaining lengths of canal are protected by similar designations in adjoining local authority areas.

Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans

Since the conservation areas were designated, many settlements have grown and in some cases this growth has had a significant effect on the character of some conservation areas. It is, therefore, necessary to keep the boundaries of conservation areas under review and to consider possible amendments to them. The council is committed to re-appraising its conservation areas and to producing management plans for each one of them on a regular basis.

Buffer Zones

The revised Conservation Areas with Management Plans and Appraisals included Buffer Zones. These are areas in which inappropriate development would have an adverse effect upon the character and integrity of the buildings and land within conservation areas. Almost all of the newly designated conservation areas have Buffer Zones. The Council will seek to ensure that development within Buffer Zones preserves or enhances the special interest of the conservation area and causes no harm to that special interest. Buffer Zones are also seen as being important in protecting accustomed views into and out from conservation areas by ensuring that they remain protected from inappropriate forms of development, and seeing that due regard is paid to accustomed views in the formulation of public realm works or enhancement schemes.

Further Conservation Area Information and Guidance

See the Further Conservation Area Information and Guidance page for additional advice .

Contact

Telephone: (01902) 696000
Email: conservation@sstaffs.gov.uk

South Staffordshire Council
Council Offices
Wolverhampton Road
Codsall
South Staffordshire
WV8 1PX