NM22: Maintaining and Enhancing the Conservation Area
Proposed Policy NM22: Maintaining and Enhancing the Conservation Area
- Proposals within the Conservation Area or its setting which demonstrate that they preserve or enhance the special architectural and historic interest of the Area, complying with the New Milton Design Codes and Guidance and the Old Milton Green Character Statement, as relevant to location, nature and scale of the scheme, will be supported.
- Proposals which would result in considerable improvements to energy efficiency, carbon emissions and/or general suitability, condition and longevity of existing buildings in the Conservation Area (as shown in the Policies map) will be supported, with significant weight attributed to those benefits. Where exterior building alteration is required, the proposals must demonstrate that heritage preservation has been balanced with energy efficiency to avoid adverse visual impact on the surrounding conservation area.
Supporting Text
The Neighbourhood Plan recognises that there has been some erosion of the character of the conservation area from certain buildings, either due to their design or their current appearance and therefore wish to encourage the re-development of such buildings which currently make a negative contribution to its character and appearance. The Travis Perkins/Bathroom Showroom site has been identified as one such area of concern which could be improved through re-development.
The Neighbourhood Plan has also identified that retrofitting in conservation areas can be an issue, as such, this new policy will guide effective retrofitting, so it can be undertaken sensitively within the conservation area. The policy therefore supports appropriate redevelopment where it would enhance the conservation area and also direct the reader to the Design Guidance and Codes, as well as to the Historic England Guidance and the Climate Emergency Conservation Area (ACAN ) tool kit which address retrofitting opportunities in heritage settings.