Colchester Conservation Area 4: North Station Road and Environs
Consultation on proposed revisions to the boundary, appraisal, management proposals and proposed Article 4 Directions.
Designation
In April 2019, Colchester’s Local Planning Committee approved the designation of Colchester Conservation Area 4: North Station Road in recognition of its special architectural and historic interest.
The designation of the Conservation Area aimed to enable the effective protection of its character and appearance, since its statutory designation became a material consideration for the determination of planning applications and allied development management decisions.
The designation of the Conservation Area was informed by a Conservation Area Character Appraisal which analysed its appearance, character and quality, summarised its significance and appraised its condition. Together with its designation, the Local Plan Committee adopted the Character Appraisal and approved the accompanying Managements Proposals which included measures to conserve the special qualities of the Conservation Area.
View the Designation Notice of the Conservation Area (File 1) (PDF, 114KB)
A six-week public consultation was carried out concerning Colchester Conservation Area 4 between 17 November 2023 and 08 January 2024.
The public consultations sought views on the following:
- The revised Character Appraisal and Management Proposals.
- A proposed minor extension to the boundary of the Conservation Area.
- The introduction of an Article 4 Directions (one Direction for dwellinghouses and a separate Direction for commercial properties).
A summary of the responses received were reported back to the Local Plan Committee who considered whether the public consultation exercise generated the need for any amendments to the draft proposals and documents. The Committee resolved that there was no requirement for any amendments. The Character Appraisal and Management Proposals (including the proposal to extend the boundary of the Conservation Area and the making of the Article 4 Directions) were adopted without changes and the statutory process for making the Article 4 Directions was initiated and completed in April 2024.
Revised Character Appraisal and Management Proposals
The Management Proposals that were adopted when the Conservation Area was designated in April 2019 prescribed the regular review of the reports that informed the designation of the Conservation Area (Character Appraisal and Management Proposals). The revised document merges, incorporates and expands on the 2019 reports , to present a comprehensive analysis of the study area. It also includes the review the adopted boundary and proposes a minor amendment. Moreover, the study re-assesses the condition of the Conservation Area on the basis of a new survey and re-examines its strengths, challenges and opportunities. This information was used to update and expand on the Management Proposals, including the recommendation for an Article 4 Direction.
A proposed minor extension to the boundary of the Conservation Area
The Revised Character Appraisal and Management Proposals recommended the amendment of the Conservation Area boundary on Causton Road, to include the terrace of nos. 12 to 18. By virtue of their date, design, style and quality, these properties form a group with the buildings on Causton Road that are already within the existing boundary.
Introduction of an Article 4 Direction
The Article 4 Direction is an initiative that is aimed at giving further protection to the distinctive character of the Conservation Area. The Local Plan Committee approved the making of separate Directions, one for dwellinghouses and one for commercial properties. The Article 4 came into effect on 12 April 2024.
Article 4 Direction for dwellinghouses
Residents generally enjoy what are known as “Permitted Development” Rights, which allow certain types of small-scale work to be undertaken to a property without the need to apply to the council for planning permission. The effect of an Article 4 Direction is to withdraw certain of the Permitted Development Rights. This means that residents wishing to carry out the work specified in the Direction will need to make an application and obtain Planning Permission from the council, before they can undertake these works. The use of the Direction is not intended to prevent the execution of these works .It generates the requirement for a Planning Application so their details can be considered and assessed for their potential impact on the character of the Conservation Area.
Planning Permission will be required for the following works:
- The enlargement, improvement or other alteration of a dwellinghouse, including the replacement of doors and windows.
- The enlargement of a dwellinghouse consisting of an addition or alteration to its roof.
- Any other alteration to the roof of a dwellinghouse.
- The erection or construction of a porch outside any external door of a dwellinghouse.
- The installation, alteration or replacement of a chimney, flue or soil and vent pipe on a dwellinghouse.
- The erection, construction, maintenance, improvement or alteration of a gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure.
- Formation, laying out and construction of a means of access to a highway which is not a trunk road or a classified road, where that access is required in connection with development permitted by any class in this schedule (other than by Class A of this Part).
- The painting of the exterior of any building or work.
View and download the sealed Article 4 Direction (dwellinghouses) (File 4)(PDF, 309KB)
Article 4 Direction for commercial properties
In September 2020, changes to the use Classes Order (2015 as amended) and The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (GPDO) created a new class E including retail, financial and professional services, offices, food and beverage that provides much greater flexibility for permitted changes between these uses that would formerly have required the submission of a planning application. Part 3 of the GPDO includes provisions for a potential change of use from these Class E uses to residential Class C3 (subject to conditions and a process of prior approval) under Class MA. The Article 4 Direction withdraws this permitted change of use from commercial properties along North Station Road which now requires the submission of a Planning Application for determination by the city council.
View and download the draft Article 4 Direction (commercial properties) (File 5)(PDF, 264KB)
More information
If you need clarifications or more information, these should be requested by emailing eirini.dimerouki@colchester.gov.uk with the reference “Colchester Conservation Area No.4 – North Station Road and Environs” in the title header.
Or in writing to:
Eirini Dimerouki
Development Management
Colchester City Council
Rowan House, 33 Sheepen Road,
Colchester,
CO3 3WG
Page last reviewed: 27 November 2023