Context 167 - March 2021

46 C O N T E X T 1 6 7 : M A R C H 2 0 2 1 local memory and the physical buildings and institutions. It was clear that the town had a history of innovation, from being the birthplace of an embryonic NHS to the exemplary regeneration of the railway works following their closure. This spirit of innovation was drawn through into the CAAMP, looking at thematic opportunities to continue this regeneration and outwardly share the heritage interest of the town. Questionnaires are a good addition or alternative to workshops in the current pandemic. Questions need to be easy to respond to, providing a choice of answers, but a questionnaire also allows the opportunity for broader feedback. A questionnaire prepared for Romsey’s conservation area in Hampshire was launched at the height of the pandemic in April 2020. From the responses it was clear that maintaining and improving the appearance of buildings in the town, specifically the reinstatement of traditional shopfronts, was the most important issue for residents. As a result, the CAAMP included detailed guidance on the appropriate design of shopfronts in the town, and advice to building owners on good practice maintenance and repair. Today the approach to statutory consultation, once a draft CAAMP has been prepared, is generally expected to be more thorough than simply publishing the CAAMP on the council’s website and putting a notice of the consultation in the local newspaper. There are many activities that can be undertaken during the statutory consultation period, including sending out leaflets and questionnaires, holding Q&A events, and presentations to parish councils. The approach will be different in each circumstance. The aim should be to reach as many people as possible and re-engage with those consulted earlier in the process. A mixture of paper and digital materials can be shared through social and traditional media, and directly to people’s letterboxes or inboxes. This should be combined with live events, either in person or online, which allow people to ask questions and voice opinions. Exhibitions, either manned or unmanned, are also a good option, particularly at present with the possibility to display information boards in the open air. Statutory consultation aims to iron out any concerns with the proposed content, management recommendations and boundary amendments. It is also an opportunity to gather feedback on how well the CAAMP works as a document. Is the language clear enough or too technical? Does it contain sufficient guidance on things like good practice maintenance and when planning permission is needed? Is it easy to navigate to the information needed? Questionnaires can be used to gather feedback on such specifics, ensuring that the final CAAMP is as successful as possible. It is important for the local planning authority and practitioners to carefully review the feedback received and discuss the best approach if there are conflicting opinions. It will not be possible to please everyone, so decisions should be backed by robust justification. Responding to consultation comments, specifically those not incorporated, assists the public in understanding the reasoning and helps avoid anyone feeling disenfranchised. Through these engagement and consultation phases, there is as much an element of education as there is information and opinion gathering. Considering this, the public need to know that a conservation area designation exists, what it means for them and why a place is special, to have a desire to share in the responsibility for preserving and enhancing it. Out of the conservation area review, specific opportunities for communities to take a lead on are likely to arise, such as developing a local heritage walk, creating an exhibition of historic photographs of the area, or organising an annual gutter-clearing day. It can also be an opportunity to instigate wider engagement with local heritage, and connect with other initiatives such as high street heritage action zones. There is considerable potential for conservation area review and management to be used to unlock capacity among local communities to take the lead in caring for and celebrating their historic environments. Some reviews have already taken the step of using local volunteers to assist in site surveys, the process of gathering the evidence base for the CAAMP, but there are opportunities for this to be undertaken more frequently. Opportunities may arise for communities to co-write CAAMPs with a local planning authority or professional practitioner, and to explore community-led CAAMPs, perhaps using a similar mechanism to neighbourhood planning. Emma Bryant is a senior townscape and heritage consultant at Purcell. The Corn Exchange, Romsey, Hampshire: reinstating traditional shopfronts was a priority for residents (Photo: Peter Trimming, Wikimedia)