Ben Rhydding Conservation Area Management Proposals
The overall aim of the Conservation Area Management Proposals is to preserve and enhance the character of the Conservation Area by ensuring that the Council and the community work together to maintain historic features and details and limit the loss of character.
The objectives of the Management Proposals are based on the issues identified in the Ben Rhydding Conservation Area Assessment and prioritised by members of the community who took part in the Ben Rhydding Conservation Area Assessment public consultation.
Ben Rhydding Conservation Area Appraisal
The Conservation Area Appraisal is an update of Ben Rhydding Conservation Area Assessment. The appraisal focuses on what has happened in the last five years since the Conservation Area Assessment was written and monitors whether decisions from both the Council and external stakeholders in the area have helped to maintain or enhance the special character of Ben Rhydding.
The conservation area will be re-appraised every five years.
- Ben Rhydding Conservation Area Appraisal
Repairs and Maintenance Guidance
Many residents of Ben Rhydding wanted to know how the way they maintain, repair and restore their own houses can help to maintain or enhance the special character of the conservation area.
The Design and Conservation Team has responded by producing a Repairs and Maintenance Guide for traditional buildings. The guide advises on things like roof maintenance and repair, repointing walls and fitting burglar alarms. The guidance is applicable across the district and is divided into brief sections which can be accessed via the link below:
Shopfront Design Guidance
People who took part in the Ben Rhydding Conservation Area Assessment consultation were concerned that the design of some of the shopfronts in the neighbourhood is not making a positive contribution to the area’s character and appearance. Residents in other conservation areas with commercial buildings felt the same about their areas.
The Design and Conservation Team has produced a Shopfront Design Guide which is used to make sure that any new shopfronts or alterations to existing shopfronts make a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the conservation area.
The Shopfront Design Guide is a key reference when planning decisions are made about shopfronts.
Potential Ben Rhydding Article 4(2) Direction
The Ben Rhydding Conservation Area Assessment consultation revealed that the community wanted to preserve and enhance those features and details of buildings which contribute to the character of Ben Rhydding through the introduction of an Article 4(2) Direction.
An Article 4(2) Direction protects the character of a conservation area by removing certain permitted development rights from certain properties. For example, an Article 4(2) Direction could be introduced to make planning permission necessary for works to roofs, chimneys, boundary walls, windows or doors.
The Design and Conservation Team will be consulting residents within the conservation area to explain what an Article 4(2) Direction would potentially mean to the area and to find out if residents would support it. The potential Article 4(2) Direction will only go ahead if the community supports it.
Work on a potential Article 4(2) Direction is scheduled to take place between 2008-2009.
Ben Rhydding Conservation Area Assessment
The Ben Rhydding Conservation Area Assessment contains a detailed analysis of the character of the conservation area and describes its special character and interest. The document and the revised conservation area boundary were approved by Keighley Area Committee on 29th October 2003.
