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Consideration was
given to the recommendations of the Housing and Planning Scrutiny
Select Committee of 15 July 2025 in respect of the approach the
Council should take in relation to obtaining heritage information
and evidence to support the emerging Local Plan including
progressing work on Conservation Area statements and
Appraisals.  Consideration was also
given to advice from the Heritage Strategy that was produced in
2024 to support the emerging Local Plan. 
 
It was acknowledged
that information and evidence on heritage matters, including
Conservation Area Statements / Appraisals, would provide
information to help inform future change, development and design
with regard to the sensitivities of the borough’s historic
environment and its unique character, ensuring that development
could make a positive contribution to local character and
distinctiveness as set out in paragraph 203 of the National
Planning Policy Framework.
 
Careful
consideration was given to a Conservation Area Appraisal /
Statement Priority List, attached at Annex 1, which set out each
Conservation Area within the borough, the size of the Conservation
Area and whether a Conservation Area Appraisal already existed and
the date of the Appraisal, where one had been undertaken
previously.
 
Cabinet had due
regard to the views of the Scrutiny Select Committee, the finance
and value for money consideration, the risk assessment and the
legal implications outlined in the report.
 
Cllr Taylor
proposed, seconded by Cllr Boughton and Cabinet
 

RESOLVED:  That
 

(1)       
the approach set out within this paper to progressing heritage
information and evidence to support the Local Plan, be agreed;
 

(2)       
the approach to progressing Conservation Area Statements for those
areas considered to be a priority to support the Local Plan, as set
out in Table 3 under paragraph 7.5.3 of the report, be agreed;
 

(3)       
it be noted that, as part of the evidence gathering approach for
the Local Plan, work would be progressed in relation to identifying
any heritage issues as relevant to potential site allocations
within the Local Plan process to ensure that sufficient information
was provided at each key stage of the Local Plan process;
 

(4)       
the priority in progressing the additional work between the various
Conservation Areas as set out in Annex 1, be agreed;
 

(5)       
short Conservation Area Statements be produced for all Conservation
Areas that did not currently have a Conservation Area Appraisal as
a starting point to ensure that information was available for all
Conservation Areas in the borough; it be noted that this would be
at extra cost and would take both financial and staffing resource
away from progressing full Conservation Area Appraisals for those
that did not currently have one or where Appraisals required a
review and update; and
 

(6)       
it be noted that the Heritage Strategy, attached at Annex 2, had
been made publicly available following the Housing and Planning
Scrutiny Select Committee meeting on 15 July 2025.