Further Conservation Area Information and Guidance
How Conservation Area Controls Affect Listed Buildings
Conservation Area designation does not convey any additional controls. Listed buildings have their own strict legal safeguards. Any change to the fabric (outside or inside) of a listed building requires special permission known as Listed Building Consent. This also applies to structures within the curtilage, including outbuildings, garden walls, gates or railings. No fee is charged for these applications.
Please see our section on listed buildings for further guidance or contact Conservation on 07961 230843 or conservation@sstaffs.gov.uk
Planning Permission may also be required in conjunction with Listed Building Consent for demolition or an extension to the property.
Please note that it is a criminal offence to undertake unauthorised works to a listed structure.
How Conservation Area Controls Affect Unlisted Buildings
Before any work starts on a property, it is advisable to see if any type of permission is needed as extra planning controls apply in Conservation areas. Contact Planning on 01902 696000, or by email at conservation@sstaffs.gov.uk
Planning Permission and Building Regulations Approval may be needed for some alterations and extensions and also for some types of demolition work.
Other examples that may require permission are: to clad exterior walls with stone, timber, plastic etc., to erect satellite dishes on walls, roofs or chimneys fronting the highway and to undertake roof alterations (including dormer windows).
It is often the details on a building, particularly its windows, which give it its character. Although planning permission is not needed to replace windows or doors on an unlisted building in a Conservation Area, it is advisable to make sure that alterations are in keeping with the character of the building and the area. Unsympathetic changes may spoil the appearance of the historic scene and devalue a property.
Works, usually excavation, in certain Conservation Areas may also have archaeological implications. Staffordshire Historic Environment Record (HER) will be able to advise whether Scheduled Monument Consent is required.
Scheduled Monument Consent
Any monument which has been scheduled is protected against disturbance or unlicensed metal detecting. Application for Scheduled Monument Consent must be made to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport before any work can be carried out which might affect a monument either above or below ground level. Historic England gives advice to the government on each application and administers the consent system.
Is any special permission needed to demolish an unlisted property(or part of it)?
The character of a conservation area is often defined by buildings, both listed and unlisted, that together forms an important group. For this reason Conservation Area Consent is required in many cases should it be desired to demolish all or a significant part of any building within a conservation area. This can include the demolition of outbuildings, walls, fences, railing or gates and in some circumstances, the demolition of part of a building.
For advice on specific cases, or where partial demolition is required, the current legal position should be confirmed to determine whether Planning Permission is required, by contacting Planning on 01902 696000, or by emailing planning@sstaffs.gov.uk
Making sure that new development proposals enhance a Conservation Area
Conservation Area status allows for change as well as preservation. Modern buildings are not necessarily out of place in conservation areas. They must be well designed, sympathetic to their surroundings, use appropriate materials and incorporate sympathetic hard and soft landscape treatments.
It is the council's responsibility to pay special attention to the character and appearance of a conservation area when considering planning applications for new development. Fully detailed plans should be submitted. New development must respect its historic context in volume, height, scale, form and quality and submitted drawings must demonstrate that it will. Street elevations and perspective drawings showing the context are particularly helpful. Texture, colour and materials should also be carefully considered.
Making sure that new development proposals enhance a Conservation Area
Conservation Area status allows for change as well as preservation. Modern buildings are not necessarily out of place in conservation areas. They must be well designed, sympathetic to their surroundings, use appropriate materials and incorporate sympathetic hard and soft landscape treatments.
It is the council's responsibility to pay special attention to the character and appearance of a conservation area when considering planning applications for new development. Fully detailed plans should be submitted. New development must respect its historic context in volume, height, scale, form and quality and submitted drawings must demonstrate that it will. Street elevations and perspective drawings showing the context are particularly helpful. Texture, colour and materials should also be carefully considered.
What advertising signs can be displayed in a conservation area?
Conservation areas sometimes cover commercial areas of particular architectural quality and historic interest at the heart of a village. All commercial traders need to advertise their business, but signs also need to fit the design of the shop front or building as a whole. Design, size, position, quality of materials and illumination should contribute to, rather than detract from, the street scene. Internally illuminated box signs and plastic blinds will nearly always be unsuitable and are not usually permitted. Many advertisements in conservation areas will require Advertising Consent in order to be displayed.
Advice on advertisements and signs can be found in Planning Practice Guidance which accompanies the National Planning Policy Framework. Some classes and kinds of advertisement do not require either deemed or express consent from the local planning authority. Revised and updated planning practice guidance regarding the display of advertisements was introduced on 6 March 2014.
Planning Applications
Applications for permission or consent can be submitted online via the national Planning Portal; or download the relevant national standard 1APP forms. Just select 'South Staffordshire Council' from the LPA dropdown menu.
Useful Links
Your Home (Historic England) - advice for anyone living in a historic building, whether listed, in a conservation or simply old.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport - Listed Buildings.
Images of England - a point in-time photographic library of England's listed buildings, recorded at the turn of the 21st Century.
The Georgian Group - who campaign against the neglect, maltreatment and destruction of Georgian buildings, parks and gardens in England and Wales.
The Victorian Society - is a charity championing Victorian and Edwardian buildings in England and Wales.
The Twentieth Century Society - founded in 1979 as the Thirties Society - exists to safeguard the heritage of architecture and design in Britain from 1914.
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) - is the largest, oldest and most technically expert national pressure group fighting to save old buildings from decay, demolitions and damage.
The Council for British Archaeology - is and educational charity established in 1944 working throughout the UK to involve people in archaeology and promote the appreciation and care of the historic environment for the benefit of present and future generations.
The Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA) - is the national organisation for people who share an interest in Britain's industrial part. It brings together people of a great variety of interest in this country's industrial heritage.
The Planning Portal - Listed Buildings - the UK Government's online planning and building regulations resource for England and Wales.
The Historic Towns Forum - Making Better Applications for Listed Building Consent
Contact
Telephone: (01902) 696000
Email: conservation@sstaffs.gov.uk
South Staffordshire Council Council Offices
Wolverhampton Road
Codsall
South Staffordshire
WV8 1PX