36 C O N T E X T 1 3 9 : M A Y 2 0 1 5 taken for granted. If local volunteers were forthcoming, helpful paperwork for character assessment already exists courtesy of Oxford City Council7. Although not essential, the most significant aspect of a conservation area management plan is likely to be the introduction of Article 4 directions. They are the planning equivalent of driving on the other side of the road while abroad: it sounds challenging but is fairly straightforward when you get on with it.While an online idiot’s guide and pro forma would be helpful, there are countless examples available online, as is the General Permitted Development Order (GPDO). Clearly doing bespoke Article 4 directions is essential to ensure that they are credible, but the most relevant elements for conservation areas are classes A, C and D of part 1 of schedule 2 and classes A and C of part 2 of schedule 2 of the GPDO. Despite introducing Article 4 directions to nine conservation areas in one go (one area already had them), objections were limited to just one conservation area. Interestingly the conservation area in question was one that had only just been designated, which suggests that once people are used to conservation area restrictions they are less likely to oppose additional controls. An additional public meeting arranged by the ward councillors helped to manage local concerns in that area, with emphasis on the lack of fee for related planning applications diluting any cynicism that the scheme was designed to swell council coffers. In the 12 months that followed the introduction of Article 4 directions to 2,090 properties, the council received only 11 related planning applications. This was less than one per cent of the approximately 1,500 applications that the planning department processed in total during the same period. However, while not resulting in an avalanche of planning applications, the directions have had a tangible impact in reversing what had previously been an incremental deterioration in the character of a number of the more urban conservation areas. Conversely, they remain a fairly blunt tool. It is advisable to work with development management in advance to agree application requirements and advice. Having an adopted conservation area management plan is not essential to unlocking funding for enhancements, but it can help. Providing a list of shovel-ready schemes that have wider benefits to the management of assets like parks and highways means that the conservation agenda can take precedent when funds do become available. Being able to lever in external funds from sources like the Heritage Lottery Fund can help to alter perceptions of conservation being a bureaucratic inconvenience and instead show it as a force for delivering positive change. Using section 106 budgets to shore up external grants means that enhancement projects can leave revenue budgets largely alone,while developing projects enhances internal networking between conservation and other related parts of planning. InWatford, 15 enhancement schemes in conservation areas have been granted funding totalling half a million pounds, with external grants and section 106 funding accounting for over 95 per cent of the costs. Although larger schemes can have a greater impact, having a number of smaller schemes that can be delivered fairly rapidly, such as tree planting, plaque restoration and lamp column re-painting, helps ensure that momentum is maintained and creates buy-in from elected members. A picture of councillors standing in front of a skip filled with redundant street clutter may sound dull, but is ideal material for helping fill a ward newsletter. The loss of English Heritage’s ‘partnership schemes in conservation areas’ is unfortunate, as this provided a less intimidating framework than the larger-scale townscape heritage initiative programme, but the various Heritage Grove Mill Lane Conservation Area, to the north-west of the centre of Watford, has the Grand Union Canal and River Gade at its core. A main building group is based around the former mill.
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