Conservation Area Appraisal & Management Plan - Home Page

Leslie Conservation Area Appraisal and Management PlanThe proposed extension takes in an area of late 18 th and early 19 th century planneddevelopment resulting from the industrial growth in the area in this period. The NewTown was a continuation of the High Street and takes the form of a rectangle shaped bythree parallel roads (the main central axis being the High Street). The west end of theperimeter stops before the village of Prinlaws and seeks to cover the 18 th and 19 thcentury’s High Street development and the planned New Town only.David Martin survey 1798 – proposals for the New TownThe area was meticulously planned and designed in a rigid form, as seen in the earlyplans by David Martin in 1798. It was a product of later 18 th century industrial economicplanning and a physical expression of the experimental approach to industry and humanresource management that emerged on the back of the Industrial Revolution. As aplanned village other surviving examples exist in Fife, with Charlestown being a notableexample. Leslie is also of interest in a national context for its quality and as a rareexample of a later Georgian planned village designed to expand an existing settlement.The majority of the buildings front directly onto the pavements, and are constructed ofwhinstone or sandstone. They vary between one and two-storey buildings, with mainlyslate roofs. Dominating buildings in this area are the churches, all of which are listed.The tradition of long riggs at the back of the buildings is continued in this area, butmainly on the north side, extending back to the Commonty. Those on the south side ofthe High Street are smaller and are built over. The area includes a large number oflisted buildings.Pressures for redevelopment of brownfield sites in this area are increasing. The NewTown would benefit from conservation area designation in order to preserve andenhance its character, and recognise its significance. The specific shape of the New32