Conservation area (United Kingdom)

In the United Kingdom, the term conservation area nearly always applies to an area (usually urban or the core of a village) considered worthy of preservation or enhancement because of its special architectural or historic interest.

The current legislation in England and Wales, the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (Section 69 and 70), defines the quality of a conservation area as being: "the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance". The current Scottish legislation is the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

More than 9,600 have been designated in England.

The Civic Amenities Act 1967 introduced the concept of conservation areas before being superseded by the 1990 Act. Stamford, Lincolnshire was the first conservation area to be designated.

Conservation areas can be found across a wide a range of urban and rural UK locations. For example, in the historic centres of town and cities such as Alexandra Palace and Park; model housing estates; historic mining, fishing and transport areas e.g. Crosby Garrett and rural villages such as Osmotherley.

In conservation areas, it is the protection of the quality and special interest of the neighbourhood or area as a whole that is intended, rather than specific buildings. For example, the layout of boundaries, roads, vistas and viewpoints, trees and green features, street furniture and surfaces, the characteristic building materials of the area, the mix of different uses, and the design of shop fronts may all be taken into account when deciding whether an area has a particular special architectural or historic interest.

It is the role of the listed building process to protect individual buildings, although it is common for many listed buildings to also be located within designated conservation areas where those individual buildings make a contribution to the special architectural or historic character of the area.

Current Government planning policy on conservation areas is laid down (for England) mainly in section 12 'Conserving and enhancing the historic environment' of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and (for Wales) in Welsh Office Circular 61/96 - Planning and the Historic Environment: Historic Buildings and Conservation Areas.

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