Annual Report of the Planning Audit Unit

ANNEX 4: Working Group on Conservation Control:

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS/RECOMMENDATIONS

Working Group on Conservation Control: Summary of Findings/Recommendations

General Issues

Development control statistics

• The Scottish Executive should clarify its guidance on compiling the statistical returns.
• Planning authorities should ensure that data submitted to the Scottish Executive is accurate.

Legislation and published guidance

• Research has been published recently on the effectiveness of the General Permitted Development Order and related mechanisms. A joint Scottish Executive/COSLA working group has been set up to take this forward and will consider, inter alia, the scope of permitted development affecting conservation areas and listed buildings.
• It is intended that over the next year, the Town and Country Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Regulations 1987 along with Circular 17/1987 New Provisions and Related Guidance Relating to Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas will be revised and updated.
• Historic Scotland's CD-ROM containing the text of the Memorandum as well as the statutory list of buildings, has been made available to local authorities at a discounted price of £60.
• Historic Scotland should investigate ways of placing a copy of the Memorandum on the Internet.

Listed Building Consent Process

The need for consent

• Decisions on what types of work require consent should remain a matter for the planning authority Pre-application advice
• The Scottish Executive have commissioned research to examine the role of pre-application discussions and guidance and how they may be more effective.
• Individual councils should consider producing a leaflet that explains to owners of historic properties local practices and procedures relating to listed building (and conservation area) issues.

The statutory list

• NPPG 18 and the Memorandum make the point that the description attached to the list has no legal status nor is the list a complete inventory of features worth preserving. This may need to be reinforced elsewhere, for example, in the list itself, in explanatory leaflets and other documents.

Fees

• The existing system, whereby applications for listed building consent do not attract a fee should remain in place.

Quality of submissions

There needs to be a concerted effort to raise the standard of drawings and supporting information submitted as part of any application for listed building consent. As a means of improving the quality of submissions:

• potential applicants should be directed to agents familiar with the requirements of the legislation, Memorandum and NPPG 18 and with expertise and experience in the field of conservation.
• planning authorities should stipulate, through guidance notes to the applicant, the nature and detail of information required.
• workshops and discussion held between Historic Scotland, developers and planning authorities would help demonstrate the level of detail needed.
• where submissions do not contain sufficient information to enable detailed appraisal of the proposals they should be treated as invalid. Planning authorities should explain in writing why the application is incomplete and set out what additional information is required.

Application forms and supporting information

• a model form, with notes for the guidance of applicants, would help raise the quality of submissions and Historic Scotland should consider taking this forward with the Scottish Executive and COSLA.

Supporting information should comprise:

• accurate, properly annotated survey drawings (existing and proposed) of the site, all elevations, floor-plans and sections where changes are proposed. These should be at a scale of 1:100, 1:50 or 1:20, demonstrate how the building relates to adjacent buildings and be annotated or coloured to show where changes are proposed;
• photographs of the existing building. For more straightforward proposals, such as window replacements, these can be substituted for drawings of the existing windows. Photographs may also be used to save time on site visits, assist Historic Scotland in prioritising workload, formulating comments and in monitoring changes to listed buildings;
• written specification of proposed materials and construction method;
• for more significant proposals involving demolition works or significant alterations, an architectural and historical appraisal, supported by written explanation and justification of the proposals;
• Historic Scotland should consider reviewing the extent to which supporting information for applications for listed building consent is prescribed through the Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas Regulations and good practice advice;
• local authorities should make a conscious policy decision to raise standards and clearly set out the requirements in guidance notes to the applicant.

Advertisements

• the Scottish Executive Development Department has commissioned research into the costs of advertising planning proposals, which will include applications for listed building consent. The research is underway.

Specialist knowledge and expertise

• local authorities should ensure that they have access to specialist conservation advice to inform their decision making and to advise owners of historic buildings and other members of the public.
• Historic Scotland, with the Scottish Executive, should identify and monitor existing levels of conservation expertise within local authorities.
• further training needs and opportunities in practical conservation issues should be identified and provided for staff (professional and technical) dealing with conservation cases. Historic Scotland may be able to assist in this.

Consultation with amenity bodies

• local authorities should identify ways of improving consultations with amenity bodies and look for ways to improve the quality of representations through discussion and workshops.

Consultation with other council services

• effective internal working relationships between building control and development control staff can be enhanced with regular consultation and co-operation.

Consultation with the Historic Buildings Inspectorate

• local authorities should develop and make use of a pro-forma letter designed in consultation with Historic Buildings Inspectorate. Local Authorities and the Inspectorate should also make better use of information technology - especially e-mail - to speed up and reduce the costs of informal consultation. Whilst the scanning of maps and plans may not always be possible e-mail could save time in the initial and final stages of consultation.
• Historic Scotland, with COSLA, should work to prepare a service charter that sets out the service that local authorities can expect from the Historic Buildings Inspectorate with respect to informal consultations. This should also clear set out what the Inspectorate expects of local authorities.

Notification procedures

• a charter that sets out the expected roles of Councils and the Inspectorate in respect of formal and informal notification procedures would help improve working practices.

Radical reform of the notification procedure

• Historic Scotland should consider the relative merits of alternative systems:-

- contract arrangement between Historic Scotland and local authorities

- Historic Buildings Inspectorate should be formally consulted on all applications immediately upon registration and of amendments. No response within a 28 day period should be regarded as a "deemed clearance". Notification would only be necessary where planning authorities intend to grant consent against the advice of Historic Scotland or do not intend to attach conditions suggested by Historic Scotland.

- local authorities should only be required to notify cases relating to category B and C (S) buildings that they consider to be a departure from the policies contained in the Memorandum.

Conservation Area Consent Process

The need for consent

The Scottish Executive, with Historic Scotland and local authorities, should review the scope of control over works within conservation areas in the light of the Shimizu decision. This will involve scrutiny of the:

• Town and Country Planning (Demolition which is not Development) (Scotland) Direction 1996
• scope of permitted development within conservation areas
• definition of demolition
• ability of article 4 Direction to regulate demolition works

Consultation with the Historic Buildings Inspectorate

• Historic Scotland should consider the merits of becoming involved in the conservation area consent process in the early stages and in the processing of major planning applications that have the potential to significantly affect the character and appearance of conservation areas.

Notification

• The Historic Buildings Inspectorate should continue to be notified of all applications for conservation area consent.

Planning Application Process

Processing

• Where it takes place, local authorities should discontinue the practice of using a single form and file to process related applications for planning and listed building consent. Instead, applications for listed building consent should be processed separately to but concurrent with any related planning application.

Notification

• The Scottish Executive with Historic Scotland should review the need for notification under Article 20 of the GDPO in the light of additional requirements under the Town and Country Planning Notification of Applications (Scotland) Direction 1996.