Dear Mr Salisbury
Further to my acknowledgement below, I am now able to respond as
follows:
1. Currently the Council has no agreed criteria for determining if a
building subject of an application fulfils the requirement of being a
building of "local interest" for the purposes of Policy HE.6. For
policy HE.6 to have weight a building would have to be included within
an approved list of buildings of local interest. Since no approved list
exists the requirements of Policy HE.6 have little weight.
On occasion. specialist officers are required to make a judgement if a
building has architectural or historic interest that would warrant it
being described as a building of local interest. Within a conservation
area the assessment criteria provided by English Heritage and in PPG15
is generally used, i.e. to determine the contribution a building makes.
It is sufficient to conclude that a building makes a positive
contribution and it is not necessary to debate if it is a building of
"local interest". Outside a conservation area, criteria used will be
based on the assessment criteria for listing buildings. English
Heritage is currently devising an assessment methodology for assessing
historic buildings that do not qualify for listing but that may possess
local interest.
If a building is listed then it is already identified as possessing
local and/or national interest.
2. There is a list of buildings. It is draft and incomplete and has
not been the subject of any consultation and the buildings have not been
individually assessed since 1974. The list exists as the result of
those buildings included in the 1974 draft list of buildings of special
architectural or historic interest that never made it on to the final,
Secretary of State approved, list. Over the last 30 years or so,
buildings that officers, members of the public and local groups have
considered deserved recognition for their local interest have been added
to the list.
The Council has recently transferred the handwritten lists to the
Council's database and it should be possible for you to search addresses
via the Council's web site to determine if a building is included in the
list. The list is not complete and at present there are no resources to
do anything more with it. In a recent appeal, a planning inspector has
already described the "list" as having little weight.
Officers are exploring funding opportunities with English Heritage to
see if there is scope to run a pilot study in Oxford to test
methodologies and assessment criteria.
3. Please find attached the current list.
4. Whilst officer's delegated and committee reports may refer to Policy
HE.6 and a reason for refusal may even refer to Policy HE.6 this policy
has not been relied on in any planning appeal. In part this is because
those cases that have gone to appeal have been within conservation areas
and the Council can rely on Policy HE.7 and the conservation area
consent regime. Outside conservation areas in those cases where the
Council had expressed a view that existing building should be retained
and the owner has resisted, the buildings have been demolished (because
neither planning permission nor conservation area consent is needed from
the local planning authority).
The Council does not have records readily available of applications
determined under the Planning Act where there has been reference to
Policy HE6. To provide such information would require each individual
planning file to be checked. To examine each file is likely to mean that
the appropriate time limit as defined by s12 of the Freedom of
Information Act (which equates to about 18.5 hours per request) would be
exceeded.
If you disagree with any part of this response, you are entitled to ask
the Council for an internal review of the decision made. You may do this
by writing to the Monitoring Officer, Oxford City Council, Town Hall,
Blue Boar Street, Oxford, OX1 4EY. After the result of the internal
review, if you remain dissatisfied, you may ask the Information
Commissioner to intervene on your behalf. You may do this by writing to
the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely
Sent on behalf of Michael Newman (Corporate Secretariat Manager &
Freedom of Information Officer)
Oxford City Council, Town Hall, St Aldates, Oxford, OX1 1BX
Tel: 01865 252400
Fax: 01865 252256
-----Original Message-----
From: EASTAFF Charleane On Behalf Of NEWMAN Mike
Sent: 10 March 2010 10:07
To: '[FOI #28316 email]'
Subject: 1250: Internal review of Freedom of Information request -
"Buildings of Local Interest" in Oxford
Dear Mr Salisbury
Thank you for your email below. I am looking into the matter and will
respond to you in due course.
Many thanks
Sent on behalf of Michael Newman (Corporate Secretariat Manager &
Freedom of Information Officer)
Oxford City Council, Town Hall, St Aldates, Oxford, OX1 1BX
Tel: 01865 252400
Fax: 01865 252256
-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Salisbury [mailto:[FOI #28316 email]]
Sent: 06 March 2010 11:08
To: NEWMAN Mike
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - "Buildings
of Local Interest" in Oxford
Dear Mr Newman,
Thank you for your reply. Although it contains interesting and
helpful information, I would be grateful if I may have the precise
information that I have requested, for that has not been provided.
I would be grateful if you would conduct an internal review of your
reply so as to ensure that all of the information I have requested
is provided.
Yours sincerely,
Ian Salisbury
-----Original Message-----
Dear Ian
Further to my acknowledgement below, I have discussed your Freedom
of
Information request with officers in Planning and I would comment
as
follows:
Paragraph 5.4.1 of the Local Plan states that there are buildings
that
although they may not meet the criteria to be included in the
statutory
list of buildings of architectural or historic interest, they will
possess local interest that is valued by the local community.
It continues stating that the Council will compile, review and make
available to the public a "local list". Policy HE6 is intended to
give
effect to this list in the consideration of development proposals.
At present, the Council does not have an approved list. Through the
Heritage Protection Review Bill and the draft PPS15, the Government
has
advised councils that English Heritage will be producing guidance
on the
preparation of local lists. Any list compiled that does not accord
with
this guidance (when it is produced) would carry less weight in
planning
decisions.
Currently, planning permission is not needed for the demolition of
buildings outside a conservation area. The existence of a local
list
will not change this.
Within conservation areas, total or substantial demolition is
controlled
by the conservation area consent process. In this respect there is
a
presumption against demolition if a building makes a contribution
to the
character or appearance of the conservation area. The existence of
a
local list can assist in assessing the heritage significance of a
building, but it is not essential because English Heritage provides
guidance on how to assess the contribution a building makes on a
case
by case basis. As has been shown in a number of recent Planning
Inquiries in Oxford, the existence of a conservation area appraisal
is a
material consideration and can inform analysis of the contribution
a
building makes.
A building that is statutorily listed will not also be included on
any
"local list". (There is a need to beware of the use of the term
"local
list" as one of the government's proposals is to unify the
statutory
protection registers and have two lists - a "National list" and
"local
list" - as part of a register of all heritage assets. If this is
brought into effect, the local list will then include Grade II
listed
buildings, historic parks and gardens and historic battlefields as
well
as buildings of local interest). That said, works of demolition of
or
alteration, or extension to a listed building that will affect the
special interest of a listed building in any manner will require
listed
building consent. The criteria for assessing the impact of any
proposal
on a listed building are set out in PPG 15 'Planning and the
Historic
Environment, but simply, there is a presumption against works that
would
harm the special interest of listed building.
For planning applications that involve the demolition of existing
buildings outside conservation areas, the relevant policy
considerations
are included with the Local Plan and National Policy Guidance and
Statements. Local Plan Policies CP1, CP8, CP9 have relevance in
assessing the impact of a proposal on the character and appearance
of
the area.
In one instance, the Council served an Article 4 Direction to
control
the demolition of an existing building, that was proposed as part
of the
redevelopment of the site. The Government Office for the South East
advised that it would not support such a notice (An Article 4
Direction
in such instances requires Secretary of State approval) and the
notice
therefore lapsed. Consequently, planning permission was granted for
the
redevelopment of the site.
It would be a difficult and time consuming task to establish how
many
applications that have been refused where Policy HE6 is a reason
for
refusal. Advice to case officers has been that HE6 is not robust
without an agreed local list.
I hope that the above information has covered all of the points
contained in your request. However, if I can be of further
assistance,
please let me know.
Yours sincerely
Sent on behalf of Michael Newman (Corporate Secretariat Manager &
Freedom of Information Officer)
Oxford City Council, Town Hall, St Aldates, Oxford, OX1 1BX
Tel: 01865 252400
Fax: 01865 252256
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be
published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/about#officers Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #28316 email] If you find WhatDoTheyKnow useful as an FOI officer, please ask
your web manager to suggest us on your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
