system with sufficient checks and balances within it, particularly under the new planled regime. conservation programme needs staff to operate it and some budget, however small, for the enhancement programmes we all want to do (no, I don't mean all that jazzy paving!). process. The Joe authority can an should be able to, but 1 powerless without resources. This is what we have to fight for in the 1990s. We shouldn't waste effort tinkering with the legislation when there So what about the other side of the coin, tightening controls? Well, yes, I would like them simplified and basic anomalies between legislation ironed out. An end to permitted development in Conservation Areas sounds sensible too, but not without the resources to operate the system, carry out the publicity necessary to get the public on our side and to be able to offer carrots as well as sticks, because in the end, resources are the key. A good, consistent, positive Enhancement in the sort of areas I deal within Liverpool is not just about new paving and pretty street signs. It can come through attracting new development and uses, relocating unsuitable ones, traffic calming, repairing derelict buildings, and a whole host of other measures aimed at the economic regeneration of the area. The ultimate aim is to encourage private investmeqt, -but someone has to start and more important bacdes to fight. ,J Alan Taylor discusses Conservation Areas Mary King i, Head of Conservation at Liverpool City Council, and is ViceChair of the Associationof ConservationOfficers. Theseare herpersonal views and do not necessarilyreflectthose of either Liverpool City or the ACO. in Staffordshire and innovative use of the legislation to protect historic parks and gardens. NO STONE UNTURNED Like many other authorities, Staffordshire County Council was quick off the mark in designating Conservation Areas after approval of the Civic Amenities Act in 1967. Stone, a small market and coaching town, much increased in importance as headquarters of the Trent and Mersey Canal Company in the lacer 1760s, was the first candidate, formally designat~d in 1969, followed by 81 others to date. The majoriry of designations adopted by the County Council have followed the orthodox interpretation of the legislation - "an area of architectural or historic interest" - and incorporated historic town and village centres. The first stimulus towards a freer interpretation came in 1970 when the Department of Transport proposed to route the M54 motorway from Wolverhampton to Telford through one corner of Chillingron Park, just behind a Soane influenced temple and a stone's throw from Capability Brown's lake. Delegates to the 1992 ACO Annual School at Keele heard at first hand of the complex legal and procedural battles Peter Giffard, the owner, waged with the Department, and of how the principle of routing motorways through historic parks became a national cause celebre. What the case did illustrate, of course, was the total lack of protection or even formal recognition at that time for the importance of historic parks and gardens. The County Council, strongly opposed to the threatened desecration of this major historic landscape, weighed into the battle by designating Chillington irs first historic parkland Conservation Area in 1971. Clearly, at that date, as remarked above, designation conferred no additional planning powers. The principle of control over demolition was not introduced until 1972 nor over the felling or lopping of trees until 1974. The designation sought to highlight its importance to the setting to the Grade I listed hall and the many listed parkland buildings and structures, and intrinsically as the work of the foremost 18th century landscape designer, rather than additional controls. Administratively it implied chat the public authorities should have due regard to their responsibiliry under section 277(1) of the 1971 Act (now S72(1) of the 1990 Act) to pay special attention to the desirability of conserving or enhancing the character or appearance of the area when dealing with any planning proposals either within or adjacent to ir. This philosophy of drawing attention to the importance of an historic designed landscape as a means of encouraging its protection has remained central to the Counry Council's subsequent designation of a further eight parkland conservation areas. In some instances, as at Biddulph Grange, the boundaries have been drawn exclusively around the park itself; at Enville and Weston they have included the estate village (Weston was a joint designation with Shropshire inro which the parkland extends). Alton Towers includes two adjacent villages whose topography is inseparable from that of the park. Innovative use of the legislation has not always found favour. In 1978, after the designation of Biddulph Grange, the DoE commented that it was inappropriate to interpret an area of architectural or historic interest as meaning other than the setting of historic buildings in a town or village centre. We were careful to emphasise that all our designations surrounded listed buildings and in our view quite clearly satisfied the provisions of the law. It is interesting to note, 14 years on, chat designation of historic landscape Conservation Areas is now being promoted in many quarters to compensate for the lack of controls in the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens. It is difficult to be categoric about the effectiveness of Staffordshire's policy. The M54 now runs through Chillington, albeit in a cutting, so our first essay was not wholly successful. The majority of estates have not, fortunately, been subject to any development pressures over the last 20 years and their owners have not, for the most part, promoted management change. For this reason ir has never been necessary to consider extending the powers of control, for example by Article 4 Directions. At Alcon Towers, however, Conservation Area status was ineffectual in withstanding overco mm e rc ial isa tio n of parts of the park throughout the last decade, but a change in ownership and management regime have brought dramatic and welcome improvements in less than two years. While full credit for these changes must be given to the new owners and their architect, the legal cacher of designation has undoubtedly helped create a background against which these could cake place. There is little doubt that designating Biddulph Grange a Conservation Area helped raise its profile during the years 0-f uncertainty until acquired by the National Trust. Times change, and we have so far used I J
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