Project Conclusions
The work of this project has now completed, with the results of the Public Consultation being presented to Preston City Council. They have responded to say that they are not proposing to pursue a Conservation Area designation at this time, "The reasons, aside from the closeness of the results, are predominantly concerned with departmental priorities. It is appreciated though that Grimsargh does have a measure of historic landscape and buildings and that there is keen interest to protect the historic environment. We are currently underway with preparing to promote a ‘local heritage list’ and parts of Grimsargh would certainly meet the criteria."
We do expect to hear further from them on their proposals for a local heritage list.
Project Details
Firstly – you might ask “What is a Conservation Area?”. Section 69 of the Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 defines conservation areas as ‘areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’.
A Special Working Group was set up to investigate and evaluate the implications of Conservation Area Status for parts of Grimsargh and this group has now come back with an initial proposal - for discussion and consultation purposes.
A map showing the area of the proposal can be downloaded here.
The timetable and format for this preliminary consultation was as follows:
- January 2013 - around 370 fliers were delivered to the residents of those properties within and adjacent to the proposed area. A copy of this flyer can be downloaded here.
- 27th February 2013 - There was a public meeting for all residents and interested parties. There was a good debate and a lot of useful information was explained. A questionnaire was available at the meeting and further copies were also made available in Grimsargh Post Office and the Village Hall. You can download a copy here.
- March 2013 - the results of the consultation were be compiled and analysed. The numbers in the results are as follows:
In answer to the question "Do you agree with the principle of a designated conservation area in our village?" the responses were as follows:
| Residency of respondent | Yes | No | Total |
| Within Conservation Area proposal | 52 | 57 | 109 |
| Adjacent to Conservation Area proposal | 29 | 9 | 38 |
| Other | 14 | 6 | 20 |
| Totals | 95 | 72 | 167 |
At the Parish Council meeting on 4th April, the Parish Council agreed to forward the results to Preston City Council.
Details of the existing Conservation Areas in our Borough can be found on the Preston City Council website.
Some further useful and informative documents/links are given below:
- Guide to What's Involved for Residents Living in a Conservation Area (Newcastle City Council)
- English Heritage "Understanding Place: Conservation Area Designation, Appraisal and Management" - download pdf
- http://www.preston.gov.uk/yourservices/planning/conservation-and-heritage/conservation-areas/
- Example of a local Conservation Area Appraisal (Draft Aug 2011) - Inglewhite Village
Any queries should be directed via our Clerk, Sue Whittam.