LISTS TO HELP PRESERVE LOCAL LANDMARKS
Published by the Society in the Ripon Gazette, 31st October 2008
Which buildings do you value in Ripon? asks David Winpenny, Co-Chairman of Ripon Civic Society.
It’s easy to think of the major structures of the city, like the Cathedral, the Town Hall, the Wakeman’s House and the Old Deanery, for example, which most people would agree need protection from insensitive development. Buildings like this are already protected with legislation and because of their status as listed buildings at Grade I or Grade II*.
There is other protection, too, of course. Ripon has a considerable number of Grade II listed buildings. This means that they are of local significance and merit protection. And most of the centre of Ripon is designated as a Conservation Area, in which all the buildings – not just the listed ones – are to be treated as special in planning terms.
How much these levels of protection actually work to prevent inappropriate development or destruction is often dependent on the efficacy of the local authority and of its planning and conservation officers. For Grade I and Grade II* buildings there is, of course, stringent protection, and with that comes much more governmental and government agency support. Such buildings are, for example, much more likely to receive English Heritage or Heritage Lottery grants. And plans for their change (which includes, of course, their partial or total demolition) will be rigorously scrutinised.
It is not always so for Grade II and Conservation Area buildings. Grants are unlikely to be available. Planning conditions are often not as stringent, and even where there are ways of preventing what many would consider inappropriate changes, like the installation of uPVC windows and doors, local authorities are reluctant to make the necessary orders to impose the restrictions.
And what of other buildings that fall outside the listing system and outside the protection of a Conservation area? Are they even recognised as having value?
People around the country are now being encouraged to make lists of important local buildings – ones that are important to them, not just the ones that would interest an architectural historian or an antiquarian. When (and if) the new Heritage Protection Bill becomes an Act of Parliament, these local lists will take on a new importance. They will need to be considered by planning officers and planning committees when they look at planning applications. The inclusion of a building on such a list should help to at least give them pause before agreeing to changes that might irreversibly change the nature of that building.
So which buildings in Ripon do you value – for their position, their detail, the place they have in the street, the contribution they make to the life of your local area or of the whole community? And it’s not just a question of individual buildings – you may wish to think about groups of buildings, like terraces or courtyards, too. They need not be grand buildings – in fact they are unlikely to be so. They are the sort of buildings that you may see every day, may perhaps not take a lot of notice of – but yet which you would be sorry to see altered or – worse – demolished.
Ripon Civic Society would like to know what you think, so that a local list can be started for Ripon. If you have views or if you would like to nominate buildings, either e-mail info@riponcivicsociety.org.uk or write to Ripon Civic Society, c/o Victoria Villa, Princess Road, Ripon HG4 1HW.
It’s easy to think of the major structures of the city, like the Cathedral, the Town Hall, the Wakeman’s House and the Old Deanery, for example, which most people would agree need protection from insensitive development. Buildings like this are already protected with legislation and because of their status as listed buildings at Grade I or Grade II*.
There is other protection, too, of course. Ripon has a considerable number of Grade II listed buildings. This means that they are of local significance and merit protection. And most of the centre of Ripon is designated as a Conservation Area, in which all the buildings – not just the listed ones – are to be treated as special in planning terms.
How much these levels of protection actually work to prevent inappropriate development or destruction is often dependent on the efficacy of the local authority and of its planning and conservation officers. For Grade I and Grade II* buildings there is, of course, stringent protection, and with that comes much more governmental and government agency support. Such buildings are, for example, much more likely to receive English Heritage or Heritage Lottery grants. And plans for their change (which includes, of course, their partial or total demolition) will be rigorously scrutinised.
It is not always so for Grade II and Conservation Area buildings. Grants are unlikely to be available. Planning conditions are often not as stringent, and even where there are ways of preventing what many would consider inappropriate changes, like the installation of uPVC windows and doors, local authorities are reluctant to make the necessary orders to impose the restrictions.
And what of other buildings that fall outside the listing system and outside the protection of a Conservation area? Are they even recognised as having value?
People around the country are now being encouraged to make lists of important local buildings – ones that are important to them, not just the ones that would interest an architectural historian or an antiquarian. When (and if) the new Heritage Protection Bill becomes an Act of Parliament, these local lists will take on a new importance. They will need to be considered by planning officers and planning committees when they look at planning applications. The inclusion of a building on such a list should help to at least give them pause before agreeing to changes that might irreversibly change the nature of that building.
So which buildings in Ripon do you value – for their position, their detail, the place they have in the street, the contribution they make to the life of your local area or of the whole community? And it’s not just a question of individual buildings – you may wish to think about groups of buildings, like terraces or courtyards, too. They need not be grand buildings – in fact they are unlikely to be so. They are the sort of buildings that you may see every day, may perhaps not take a lot of notice of – but yet which you would be sorry to see altered or – worse – demolished.
Ripon Civic Society would like to know what you think, so that a local list can be started for Ripon. If you have views or if you would like to nominate buildings, either e-mail info@riponcivicsociety.org.uk or write to Ripon Civic Society, c/o Victoria Villa, Princess Road, Ripon HG4 1HW.
