Would you agree with the aim of retaining the open plan nature of the estate by preserving our green open amenity spaces and by supporting the aim of preserving the existing mature trees as much as is possible.? If so please add your name to a residents group / association that could more effectively seek support from local authorities..
What is a Special Character Area ?
East Dorset District Council Policy Planning Division Supplementary Planning Guidance No. 27
(October 2005)
‘In addition to the designated Conservation Areas, there are other parts of some
towns and villages which are important for their character and the contribution
which they make to the local environment. These may be areas of older
development, areas with a particular character of buildings or layout, or areas
where trees and bushes are particularly important in creating a sylvan character.
Although they are not of sufficient historic or architectural interest for designation
as Conservation Areas, and the individual buildings may be undistinguished, it is
important that they should be protected because of their intrinsic quality and their
local importance, although this protection will be less comprehensive than that
given to the Conservation Areas themselves. For example, there is no
presumption against redevelopment, so long as it respects those features and
characteristics which are important for the quality of the area.’
East Dorset Local Plan paragraph 6.134
There are a number of areas within the District that have a distinctive character and sense of place. These established areas have a mature quality and identity that sets them apart from the urban environment as a whole, but have no other Local Plan recognition of their environmental quality.
The criteria and guidance documents explain that the aim is not - and cannot be to prevent development but to ensure that when it takes place it should respect the features which give the area its special character.
Victoria Road
Areas with SCA status in the area
Page 6 paragraph 3 of the same document seems to give a description of the Highland Park Estate in that the developers of the area have undeniably made good use of the contouring - the resulting road layout and juxtaposition of homes clearly matches the advice given to developers intending to submit new proposals to the EDDC
‘... local planning authorities and developers should think imaginatively about designs and layouts which make more efficient use of land without compromising the quality of the environment’
St Catherine’s
Giddylake / Beaucroft Lane
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