20 CharlesMynors FRTPI ARICS Barrister is at last able to look at the final version of PPG15 PLANNING AND THE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT The long-awaited final version of PPG15 has emerged at last, under the above title. I remarked at the conclusion of my piece on the draft (see Context 39) that we shall only know whether it was all worth waiting for when we see the final version. I am relieved to be able to say that the final version is certainly no worse than the draft and is indeed, in a number of respects, significantly improved. There have been a number of changes since the issue of the consultation draft in July 1993 - although not as many as might at first sight appear, since there has been a lot of shuffling of the paragraph numbering. The structure of the PPG is thus now as shown in the table. It might be said that this structure - and indeed the title of the PPG itself - reflects the dominance of the Department of the Environment (which deals with applications for planning permission and listed building consent) over the Department of National Heritage (which is responsible for listing, repairs notices and the Ecclesiastical Exemption). Alternatively, it may simply reflect the reality of day-to-day practice: problems relating to the listing of buildings and the designation of conservation areas do not actually arise nearly as often as those relating to planning control and listed building control. This is in any event a document in which the emphasis is firmly on how to incorporate the importance of historic buildings and areas in the making of planning decisions. 1 PLANNING AND CONSERVATION The first, introductory, chapter is much shorter than the corresponding section of the draft, some paragraphs of which have now been inserted at appropriate points elsewhere in the text. It sets out the Government's general approach, or what the Government wishes to portray as being its approach, emphasising the concept of sustainable development, and the importance of reconciling the need for economic growth with the need to protect the natural and historic environment. The PPG restores a cherished (or at any rate familiar) phrase from previous Circulars, curiously absent from the draft; but interestingly it shifts the emphasis: "the physical survivals of our past ... add to the quality of our lives, by enhancing the familiar and cherished local scene and sustaining the sense of local distinctiveness which is so important an aspect of the character and appearance of our towns, villages and countryside" (para 1.1). In other words, it is not enough to conserve buildings merely because they are familiar and cherished; they must be such as to enhance that local scene by virtue of their age, quality or distinctiveness. In line with other recent PPGs, PPG 15 generally retains the increased emphasis on economic prosperity found in the draft, and emphasises the need to find an economically viable uses for historic buildings. It also - again in line with other policy documents - stresses the links between the built heritage and tourism; although it will be interesting to see how long that emphasis will last, given the experience of towns such as Cambridge where the pressures created by tourists are destroying the very things they have come to see. Final version of PPG Planning and conservation 2 Development plans and development control 3 Listed building control 4 Conservation areas 5 Transport and traffic management Most encouragingly, perhaps, for readers of this particular Journal, is the statement (in para 1.6) that "above all, local authorities should ensure that they can call on sufficient specialist conservation advice, whether individually or jointly, to inform their decisionmaking and to assist owners and other members of the public". 2 DEVELOPMENT PLANS AND DEVELOPMENT CONTROL The second chapter of the PPG remains broadly as it was in the draft; although a new introductory paragraph (2.1) stresses the need for "the protection of the historic environment, whether individual listed buildings, conservation areas, parks and gardens, battlefields or the wider historic landscape ... to be taken fully into account both in the formulation of authorities' planning policies and in development control". The PPG notes that the courts have accepted that section 54A does not apply to applications for listed building consent; but, since many planning applications affect listed buildings and conservation areas, it is important to ensure that development plans include adequate conservation policies (paras 2.3, 2.4). A new warning is included, however: excessively detailed policies Corresponding section in draft [some of Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3, some of Chapter 1 and Annex 3] [Chapter 4] [new] 6 Identifying and recording the historic environment 7 The upkeep and repair of historic buildings [Annex 2] [Annex 7, expanded] [Annex 6, expanded] 8 Churches and the ecclesiastical exemption Annexes A The legislation and the main heritage bodies B Listed building control procedures C Guidance on alterations to listed buildings D Bibliography [Annex 1] [some of Annex 3] [Annex 4] [Annex 9] CONTEXT 44
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