Conservation and Listed Buildings
Cheshire East has a rich legacy of
historic buildings which are protected through
"conservation areas" and a system of "listing" by the Department of
Culture, Media and Sport.
The Heritage Conservation Team
provide a focus on the Historic Enviroment, one of the team's major
roles is advising on planning proposals for new developments and
alterations to existing buildings. This is a statutory requirement
laid out under a series of English laws, including the Ancient
Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act (1979), and Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 5 (2010) Planning
for the Historic Environment.
Conservation
Areas
Conservation areas are areas of
special character whose qualities the Council aims to protect and
enhance. There are currently 76 conservation areas within Cheshire East,
ranging from the whole town centre of Knutsford to small village
groups such as Disley and Lower Peover, or industrial settlements
like Styal and Bollington.
In conservation areas, consent is
needed before demolitions can take place. The size of house
extensions that can be built without permission is smaller than
elsewhere, and six weeks notice of work to trees must be given. The
Council expects full planning applications to be submitted, showing
the entire impact of proposed development on the conservation area.
In some conservation areas an Article 4
Direction is in force. This means that an application has to be
made to the Local Planning Authority for relatively minor changes
to the external appearance of the buildings.
Listed
Buildings
Listed buildings are those of
particular merit, for reason of architectural quality or to
illustrate social or economic history or association with well
known characters or events, or because of their group value with
other listed buildings. The Schedule of Listed Buildings is
compiled and amended as appropriate by English Heritage and can be
inspected in the Planning department or by visiting the
English Heritage site Heritage Gateway
Website. Cheshire East has a wealth of historic
buildings, 47 are of the highest grade (Grade I) signifying
their importance as Buildings of Outstanding Interest.
The older and rarer a building is,
the more likely it is to be listed. All buildings built before 1700
which survive in anything like their original condition are listed,
as are most built between 1700 and 1840. After that date, the
criteria become tighter with time, because of the increased number
of buildings erected and the much larger numbers which have
survived, so that post-1945 buildings have to be exceptionally
important to be listed. Buildings less than 30 years old are only
rarely listed, if they are of outstanding quality and under
threat.
Why are there three grades?
- Grade I buildings are those of
exceptional interest
- Grade II* are particularly
important buildings of more than special interest
- Grade II are of special interest,
warranting every effort to preserve them
The majority of the 2,618 listed buildings in Cheshire East are Grade II,
being of special interest and worthy of preservation.
Exceptionally, about 178 are distinguished further as Grade II* and
47 as Grade I.
Pictures of some of Cheshire East's
listed buildings can be found on the Heritage Gateway
Website - search on the building name or address (this site
contains all the listed building in england).
Details of Grade I and II* Listed
Buildings considered to be "At Risk" by English Heritage can be
accessed at the English
Heritage Buildings at Risk website, clicking on Search the BAR
Register and then choosing Macclesfield/Congelton/Crewe/Nantwich
from the District or London Borough dropdown menu.
Useful links
Working with Listed
Buildings
Before demolishing or altering any part of a Listed Building in
any way that affects its character, Listed Building Consent is
required from the Council, even if planning permission is not
required.
This may include work to the inside of the building, anything
fitted to it, outbuildings, walls or other site features.
Application for Listed Building consent is made on special forms
(dowloadable - see below). The fact that the building is listed may
justify relaxing some of the Building Regulations. Having to ask
for permission to make even small changes to a building does not
mean that no changes are allowed. The Council wants to make sure
that new work fits in with the old, whether it is a large extension
or new windows.
A Listed Building Application is
handled like a Planning Application, but there are differences in
the way the application is considered and advertised. No fee is
payable for an application for Listed Building consent.
Please refer to
Planning Policy Statement 5 (PPS5): Planning for the Historic
Environment for guidance on planning policies for the
conservation of the historic environment.