Concerns have been voiced over a planned extension of Alston’s conservation area, which objectors claim would mean more of the town being subject to a pick-and-mix approach to planning applications.
Eden Council conservation officer Eline Malleret told a meeting of Alston Moor Parish Council that the plan was to extend the present boundary to include important local assets including the former primary school, Samuel King’s School, the hospital and other open spaces.
But there are fears that the views of residents will count for nothing, despite having until December 12 to comment on a draft Alston Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan which has been produced.
Parish councillor Alastair Robertson, on behalf of frustrated area residents, said: “If the conservation area is extended, as Eden District Council wishes, more householders and businesses will be subjected to planning restrictions of doubtful, if any, benefit to the town, to the aggravation of the local community.”
He added: “For planning applications within the conservation area, there is a pick-and-mix batch of recommendations that can be applied on a ‘case by case’ basis, leading to decisions that are sometimes inconsistent and even contradictory, applied, dare I say it, at the whim of the planning department while the wishes and views of residents and local businesses count for nothing.”
At present, Alston’s conservation area is subject to rules which prevent householders from automatically being allowed to replace wooden street-facing windows with uPVC ones, without first applying for planning permission.
However, despite this, there had been “some inconsistent planning decisions and enforcement issues” in respect of windows and doors in the conservation area, said Ms Malleret.
The draft management plan aimed to provide clearer guidance for residents and businesses.
“For the element of uPVC windows, this document won’t set out in stone exactly what you should do, it is more looking at this as an issue.
“We think that the replacement with uPVC should be looked at closely,” said Ms Malleret. She said there was no proposal to extend the rules in line with the proposed conservation area boundary extension.
The properties just outside the conservation area had already been altered more than the properties within the conservation area so it “doesn’t make sense” to extend it, she said.
It is hoped Eden Council will publish a final management plan document before local government reorganisation in April.
