Conservation Management
Don Gruer explains the work in North Shields
In the November 2006 issue of CITY AND COUNTY I described how the Character Statement was created for the New Quay and Fish Quay conservation areas of North Shields. There seem to have been some doubts about the value of these documents and I feel that I should clarify the position as far as I am concerned. My experience is that these documents are there to be used, they are used and they carry some weight with the people who make the planning decisions.
Since the time of my article the contents of this statement have been strengthened by connecting it to the Management Strategy for the Fish Quay and New Quay Conservation Areas. As part of this adopted supplementary planning document (SPD), we are told by those who know about these things, that the statement’s contents have now been strengthened. Two other documents, to which the community has contributed, have also been connected to this strategy: Design Know-How and a Living Street Audit. The adopted Conservation Management Strategy (CAMS) is in turn linked with the Local Authority's Unitary Development Plan (UDP), Local Development Framework (LDF) and various strategies for these areas. The CAMS is a useful point of reference for all the parties who are interested in how these conservation areas should evolve.
I recommend any members of the Society to take up any opportunity offered to become involved in the creation of a character statement or any other document that is being created to influence how your area is developed. Character statements do not have to be created entirely by the community; an interim version was prepared by council officers for the Fish Quay and the New Quay areas and was used with good effect as evidence at a planning inquiry. The planners responsible for this area assure us that the Statement is always used when assessing proposals within our conservation areas.
If you are involved with a conservation area I recommend that you ask if a character statement has been prepared for it. I feel it is worth stressing that these documents are of value only if they are used and it is up to interested parties to be familiar with what they contain and to use them to support appropriate planning proposals or oppose inappropriate ones.
Both the Character Statement and the Management Statement for New Quay and Fish Quay can be found on the planning pages of www.northtyneside.gov.uk and Design Know-How is downloadable from www.northernarchitecture.com. Other authorities may have their planning guidelines published in this form too, so it is worth investigating what covers your area of interest. Maybe you will discover something new about it. I hope so.
CITY AND COUNTY
May 2008
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