Heritage Assets

Justification: Development that alters views could be detrimentally to the character and appearance of
the conservation area.
Planning permission is required for the erection of front boundary walls and gates, and Conservation
Area Consent is needed for the demolition of walls over 1 meter high fronting a highway or 2 meters
high elsewhere. In some conservation areas, Article 4 Directions have been imposed that mean any
works adjacent to a highway requires consent. Applicants are advised to contact the Council to check
whether their property is covered by an Article 4 Direction in the Ashington, Beach Road, Branksome
Park, Canford Magna and Oakley Lane conservation areas.
Front boundary walls often contribute to the character of a conservation area. Therefore, the demolition
of these walls is unlikely to gain consent.
Some characteristic boundary walls and treatments
Stone and brick walls, decorative iron railings and gates, hedges, trees and shrubs have all been used
to define boundaries within the Borough. New development will be expected to respect characteristic
boundary treatments.
Some different types of boundaries
The installation of close boarded or panel fences on boundaries fronting the highway is not considered
appropriate within a conservation area as they create unwelcome blank frontages. These are not
characteristic, and fail to preserve the character of the area.
Gates should be open in design and no more than 2m in height. In some parts of the Borough local
context will require a lower gate. Entrances should be designed to be discrete within the streetscene.
Wing walls, which curve into the bell mouth of the entrance, should be avoided as they unduly emphasise
its presence.
30