Draft Bicester Conservation Area Appraisal November 2009

8.12 ThreatsAccommodating the vehicle has had thebiggest single impact on the appearance ofthe Conservation Area. This includes:- the loss of the burgage plots and senseof enclosure through the construction ofManorsfield Road and adjacent car parks.- the speed and volume of traffic whichsqueezes through the medievaldimensions of the King’s End to MarketSquare route.- the intrusive signage associated withvehicle movement- the erection of barriers and othermeasures to protect pedestrian safety.- parked cars which occupy what couldbe civic spaces.- the dominance of the A421 King’s End,London Road, Launton Road and NorthStreet by traffic.This results in the enjoyment of theconservation area by people living in it,working in it or visiting it, being less than itshould be.The impact of traffic in the ConservationArea has been reduced by thepedestrianisation of Sheep Street but itstill dominates the town. A completeredevelopment of the area betweenSheep Street and Manorsfield Road willprovide a mixed retail, leisure, office andparking facilities and the schememasterplan was noted by CABE as beingwell integrated into the townscape.Terraces of properties of similar designcan be ruined by ad hoc replacement oforiginal windows, e.g. parts of NorthStreet and King’s End, addition of satellitedishes to the front elevation, e.g. BathTerrace, and removal of front boundarywalls, e.g. Field Street.Bath Terrace32No. 30 & 31 Market Square shop frontsThe insertion into historic buildings ofshop fronts and fascias of alien scale,design and materials detracts from thequality of the streetscape. Many suchexamples remain despite several highquality restoration schemes which havetaken place in recent years including theIndependent Chapel in Chapel Street,no.1 Causeway, Adkin’s and A PlanInsurance.North StreetOverhead power lines intrude in many keyviews, most notably when looking westdown King’s End.The number of vacant properties aroundthe town have decreased since the 1998appraisal but they are still found in CrownWalk, North Street, Wesley Lane andCauseway and are detrimental to thecharacter of the streetscape.The River Bure, commonly known asTown Ditch, is not a feature within theConservation Area, being either canalisedor built over. Opportunities are beingtaken in redevelopment proposals at BurePlace and Chapel Street to enhance thisas a visual resource.