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From the Newsletter- October 2004 |
THE CONSERVATION ADVISORY PANEL
Bristol Civic Society is one of a number of organisations represented on the City Council's Conservation Advisory Panel (CAP). As the Society's representative on the Panel, I want to take this opportunity to share with members some information about the Panel, its work and how it operates. There is also some advice for members who may wish to be informed of issues to be considered by the CAP and who may wish to convey their views thereon.
The primary function of the Panel is to advise the Council's Department of Environment, Transport and Leisure on applications for planning permission or Listed Building consent which would:
Affect the character or appearance of a Conservation Area;
Affect the character or appearance of a Listed Building.
From time to time the Panel is also asked to comment on design briefs, planning policies and other issues affecting the character and appearance of Conservation Areas. It meets on a monthly basis and members of the public may attend and, at the Chairman's discretion, speak.
One of the strengths of the CAP is its capacity to bring together at one table a considerable number of the organisations from in and around Bristol who are champions of aesthetic quality or one of the many aspects of the City's cultural, industrial or historic heritage. Besides the Civic Society, these include, among others:
The Victorian Society
Bristol Visual and Environmental Group
Bristol Society of Architects
Bristol Industrial Archaeological Society
Landscape Institute
Council for the Protection of Ancient Bristol.
The Panel also includes three elected Members of the Council who sit on its Development Control Committees.
Whilst the Panel is not empowered to determine applications, its advice on each matter it considers is formally recorded in a minute to be taken into account by Members considering reports at Development Control Committees and officers deciding the outcome of applications under delegated powers. In most cases, the Panel's views are partly complied with. In some case, the Panel's views are fully complied with but in some others the advice is not complied with at all.
CAP has a very varied range of work which includes major planning policy initiatives, large planning applications such as that for the Courage Brewery site and very detailed applications relating to alterations to Listed Buildings. ts advice, therefore, can range widely from the impact of policies and proposals on the whole quality of Conservation Areas to the particular impact of a small alteration on a treasured Listed Building. Forthright and sometimes controversial views are expressed around the table but generally a consensus is reached.
The Civic Society's views expressed at CAP are largely informed by the work of the Society's Planning Applications Group which meets every three weeks to consider a number of current applications. A summary of each Panel's advice is reported back to the Society at its monthly Executive Meeting.
Like any other organ of democracy, the effectiveness of the Panel depends in part on the input of its members and the ability of those members to reflect the views of the organisation they represent. If you are interested in issues affecting Conservation Areas, as many of you will be, do please contact me if you wish to know more about the Panel, matters on forthcoming agenda or if you wish to convey comments through the Society to the Panel.
John Payne
0117 924 0634 or paynersjn@aol.com
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