Historic England Advice Note 1 - Conservation area designation and management

Historic England is proposing a revision of its core advice note on conservation areas. That is welcome and the new draft is a significant improvement on previous versions, but is still insufficiently clear about the benefits and disbenefits of designation, about involving owners and communities, and about the need for an explicit policy statement that conservation area designations is not intended to prevent change, that conservation areas are (or should be) living and working parts of urban and rural areas and economies, and that sympathetic change is desirable and essential where it ensures the viability and vitality of the area and buildings within it.