Agenda item

Report to follow.

The Principal Conservation Officer presented Members with the Church Green Conservation area report including the Conservation Area Appraisal and Conservation Management Plan. During the presentation the following was highlighted for Members’ attention:

·       It was a statutory duty under s69(1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and conservation Areas) Act 1990 for the Council to designate any areas which they considered to be of special architectural or historic interest as a Conservation Area.

·       The Conservation Area Appraisal had been prepared in order to provide a strategy to protect and enhance its character and support the wider regeneration of the town centre. The Conservation Management Plan identified strategies to protect and enhance the Conservation Area by addressing any issues that had been identified in the Conservation Area Appraisal. These issues had been identified as the following:

§  Poor state of the public realm

§  Poor state of shop fronts

§  Parking around the church

§  Parking on the corner of Evesham Walk/ Unicorn Hill

§  Vacant Units

·       A consultation was carried out in February and March 2021 where letters were hand-delivered to occupiers of the Conservation Area and other interested parties which included Historic England and The Victorian Society. Thirteen responses to the consultation had been received, most of them dealt with issues that had already been identified and officers had dealt with the concerns that were raised.

Members were interested in particular areas of the Appraisal Plan and queried theoutcome there would be for the church if they no longer received the income from parking around the church. Officers explained that the church would be approached, and a way forward would hopefully be identified that was suitable to both parties.

Also identified as an area of interest were the fountain and the Abbey stone located in Church Green. It was commented that both of these artefacts were in a state of disrepair and residents were keen to understand what the future plans were. Officers informed Members that the plans included the repair of the fountain, however they would undertake to provide further information to Members and circulate accordingly.

The Committee were pleased that the vacant shops would be included in the plans as they impacted on the look of the area. Members questioned whether it was likely that all of the Landlords would be happy to undertake improvements of their shop fronts. It was explained that the process would be a slow one. However,when plans like these had been undertaken before,once some of the Landlords had undertaken to make changes then other Landlords would be encouraged to make improvements, having seen thatthey were worthwhile.

The Strategic Planning Manager explained that some funding mechanisms had changed, and it was hoped that bids would be made in order to secure funding in the future. Members were advised that there were multiple parties included in this project and that it was not a one-person approach.

RECOMMENDED that

1)  The Council approves the Church Green Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan, and endorses its contents as a material consideration for planning purposes; and

2)  Council approves the designation of the proposed extension to the Conservation Area to include 5 – 11 Alcester Street