About the Conservation Area
Selly Park Conservation Area was designated by the City Council in recognition of “its spacious plots and generously proportioned architect designed residential properties and open spaces; a pocket of leafy suburbia close to Birmingham City Centre.”
Conservation Area status gives the City Council powers to:
• Control additions and alterations to buildings or their demolition
• Restrict alterations to boundaries, drives, gates and fences
• Preserve views, green spaces and trees
Residents have an important part to play in conserving the area by ensuring compliance.
On the 1st August 2022 the Selly Park CAAMP and proposed boundary amendments were adopted by the Cabinet of the the City Council. Selly Park now has more assured protection than it has ever had before. The statutory definition of a Conservation Area is ‘an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character of which it is desirable to preserve and enhance’ ( The Planning- Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas – Act 1990)
You can view the final CAAMP document here
SPPOA comments on planning applications
SPPOA comments on planning applications affecting properties in the Selly Park Conservation Area with the intention to protect and enhance the character and appearanceAP of the residential area.
In commenting on these applications, SPPOA is mindful of the Council’s planning policies, and in particular the Selly Park Character Appraisal and Area Management Plan (CAAMP), which form the basis of the decisions that follow after the consultation period.
- The majority of cases involve extensions and alterations to existing buildings,
- a number of these are associated with houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), although few of these are within the Conservation Area.
- comments are also submitted on proposed enclosures to front gardens (walls, fences and gates) and on works affecting trees in the area.
In the recent past, several cases have involved properties where proposed extensions have exceeded what SPPOA regards as acceptable in size and impact on the existing property, and in their impact on neighbours and on the street scene. The Council’s planning policies offer clear guidelines for extending residential properties, including a requirement that an extension should be ‘subservient’ to the ‘host’ property.
- In one example where SPPOA objected to a proposal that disregarded this advice, the application was refused; the applicant submitted a revised scheme which overcame our objection; SPPOA did not comment on the revised application.
- In another similar case, the applicant revised the scheme to meet SPPOA’s objections before the application was determined (and subsequently approved by the Council).
- In a third example where it considered the plans were seriously unsympathetic to the historic character of the building, SPPOA supported the comments made by the Council’s Conservation Officer in its objections to the application; the application was refused.
Applications relating to HMOs are assessed against specific criteria set out by the Council. The proximity of the University is a significant factor in the large number of proposals coming forward for the conversion and extension of existing houses to provide additional small bedsits.
SPPOA has had mixed success in seeking to resist what it considers to be excessive use of buildings for this purpose. It also failed to persuade the Council to reject a major proposal to redevelop a group of Victorian terraced properties just outside the Conservation Area in favour of a large building for student housing. Whilst the development of HMOs within the core of the Conservation Area has been limited, SPPOA remains vigilant whenever larger properties change hands.
The character of the Conservation Area depends on the street scene surrounding the buildings, including the mature trees that grace the area and the gates and boundary walls and hedgerows that enclose front gardens.
Concerns about security and demands on street parking have led to a demand to park in front gardens and to erect high gates and enclosures that are unsympathetic to the historic character of Selly Park.
The Article 4 planning regulation that controls the construction of gates and walls to frontages in most of the Conservation Area enables SPPOA to influence the way these alterations are carried out, both in their design and selection of materials.
SPPOA has had occasion to comment on several proposals, including cases where the outcome has been enforcement action by the Council to secure the removal of unsympathetic works that have been carried out without permission.
When examining and commenting on proposals affecting the Conservation Area, SSPOA enjoys a constructive working relationship with the Council’s Conservation Officer, and whilst reaching its own views, it mostly finds common cause in seeking to protect and enhance the character and appearance of the area to the general benefit of the local community.
How to Comment on Planning Applications
1. The planning process
In the case of a conservation area like Selly Park, there is a presumption against additions and alterations to buildings that adversely affect their character and appearance, and to the conservation area as a whole. The definition of a conservation area is that it “is an area of special architectural and historic interest, the character and appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance”.
Planning applications have to be made to the city council for approval of any significant proposals for change. Comments are considered by the City’s Planning Department and by the Council Planning Committee.
SPPOA systematically reviews all planning applications affecting the area and decides whether to comment. Individual residents can also comment on planning applications. This note explains how to comment, giving some case examples of comments on applications directly affecting the Conservation Area.
2. Policies and issues affecting Selly Park
The area of direct interest to Selly Park residents is now largely within the Selly Park Conservation Area which gives residents protection against inappropriate development. The Selly Park Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Area Management Plan (CAAMP) is the key document for anyone making comments on planning applications. See the CAAMP at https://sellypark.co.uk/conservation-area/
The CAAMP (page 38) sets out the main pressures on the Conservation Area. Typical issues directly affecting the Conservation Area are extensions to houses; non-conforming boundaries and fences; loss of trees; conversion of family homes to houses of multiple occupancy; traffic and car parking. Guidance on national and local policies that can help resist pressures and enhance conservation areas is given in pages 42-44 and Appendices B and C of the CAAMP.
Selly Park is also affected by changes in the surrounding areas and by general city-wide and national policies. SPPOA is affiliated with the Community Partnership for Selly Oak (CP4SO) and collaborates with other local community associations to defend the wider area of Selly Oak.
- SPPOA sends out periodic lists of planning applications with clickable links that allow you to see what is proposed and how to express your views.
- To view any application, click on the link – for example 2022/99999/PA
- This will open a page headed Details Page for Planning Application.
- Fourth line down is the link where you can write your comments.
- Scroll nearly to the bottom where there is a link “View Associated Documents”.
- Click on this to reveal the documents, and on the right-hand side click the blue icon to view the documents.
- To express your views on the application, scroll back to the top of the page where you can click on a link “Submit Comments Here”. You will be asked if you have received a letter about the planning application. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t.
- Make your points in the space provided, then enter your name, address and the type of comment (comment, object, petition, support).
- Click on the link “Submit”.
- When the city council has made its decision, you will receive a statement of the policy issues that have influenced the decision.
3. Examples of comments on planning applications
Exemplified below are a comment made by an individual resident and three made by SPPOA which introduces its comments with the statement that it “represents the residents of Selly Park and endeavours to protect and preserve the character of the Conservation Area and its surrounding areas”. Anyone can comment online, by email or by post. The cases are simply meant to illustrate what a comment might look like.
Case 1: Incremental Extension of a Property
SPPOA objects to application number….. to build a flat to the side of number …. on ….. Road, Birmingham. House number …. is within the area of the Article 4 Direction on HMOs and within the Selly Park Conservation Area. The Conservation Area was designated in recognition of its character as an area of spacious plots, generously proportioned architect designed residential properties, open spaces: “a pocket of leafy suburbia close to Birmingham City Centre”.
A previous application for an extension of the same property was approved in 2016 on the grounds that the “bulk of the extension would be located to the rear” of the property and therefore would be scarcely visible from the road. An application for a further extension was made in 2018. This could amount to a cumulatively very large extension of the original building.
The current proposal is for yet further extension; this time wholly to the side of the property. The grounds for objection are therefore those which the planning officer thought were not seriously affected by the 2016 rear extension. This side extension would be very visible from the road and would be detrimental to the character and appearance of the property and to the surrounding Conservation Area.
The proposed extension would also have a major effect on the neighbour, running as it would along the party wall so that the space between houses is completely lost. The scale of the building is considerable, and the style is not in keeping with the original building or with other neighbouring buildings in the conservation area.
Case 2: Damage to Architectural Character and Street Scene
SPPOA objects to application number……for the erection of two storey side and rear extensions at number…..Road. The property lies within Selly Park Conservation Area whose main characteristic is that it is an area of residential properties with spacious plots in a pocket of leafy suburbia. This and similar neighbouring houses sit on wide plots, generously spaced with clear views through the spaces between them to mature trees in the gardens of surrounding houses. It was and remains a good example of the suburban design of its period.
The neighbouring house was recently extended up to its western boundary by additions over the garage and into the garden. Being at the furthest end of the group of houses, it does not impinge on the spaces between them or have an adverse impact on the street scene. The gap between houses, whilst smaller than the other gaps in the group, has been fully retained.
By contrast, the current proposal is an example of an expansion of a traditional detached dwelling to fill the space around it up to the limits allowed by the plot and the council’s 45 degree code. If neighbours were to follow suit, this would destroy the character of the group, creating a continuous wall of buildings without breaks between them. Generous gaps remain between other houses in this group, but the current proposal would close up the gap between numbers ….. and……
With this proposed extension, house number…. would become a very big property that would have lost its original proportions and affinity with its neighbours. The extension would add 60% to the width of the frontage. There would be no structural definition between the original house and the extension as this would continue in the same vertical plane and with the roof extended along the same ridge line, roof slope and verge line. The officer’s report on the proposals for house number …. commended the absence of any detriment to the architectural appearance or character of the host property. We do not think this comment could be applied to the current proposal for house number …. where the proposed extension is disproportionate to the original street character of the property.
Case 3: Gates and Fences Out of Character with the Area
I [name of an individual resident] object to application number… for the approval of the erection of gates and high fences at……. The plans provided with this application are rudimentary so it is not entirely clear what is being requested and therefore what would be the outcome of this application being approved. However, the application refers to raised boundary fences and walls with electronically controlled gates. Such boundaries create barriers within the street scene and for the community, and they are out of character with the area.
I refer to the Character Appraisal and Management Plan (CAAMP) for Selly Park which was approved in 2022. This notes that the Selly Park Conservation Area is a unique and valued asset with a special architectural and historic character. The CAAMP document refers to the non-building aspects of the area including gates, walls and fences. On pages 42 and 43 the document refers to a presumption in favour of retaining traditional boundary treatments and for developments to demonstrate adequate regard to the character of the area. It is characteristic of this area that properties have front gardens with low walls, fences, gates etc. These are essential parts of Selly Park’s identity and heritage.
The city council’s commitment to ensuring this asset endures for the enjoyment of future generations of Selly Park can best be achieved by working together with local people and community organisations. It is for these reasons that I ask the Council to refuse to approve this application.
Case 4: Conversion of Family Home to House in Multiple Occupation
SPPOA objects to application number….. for change of use of this dwelling house at number …. Bournbrook Road to an HMO. The objection is made for the following reasons:
Impact on the character of the area: Elsewhere in Bournbrook, the city council has argued that the large number of existing HMOs within the area would justify allowing further HMOs, on the grounds that the loss of an existing family dwelling would have little impact upon the character of the area. This is emphatically not the case of number …. Bournbrook Road. The odd numbered side of the road very largely consists of family occupied dwelling houses, whereas the even numbered side has become heavily occupied by HMO conversions. This is a dividing line where the transformation of the character of the ward should be stopped.
Article 4(1) implements the provisions of Policy DM11 of the Development Management in Birmingham which states that HMOs will only be permitted where they would not result in HMOs forming over 10% of the number of residential properties within a 100m radius of the application site; and would not lead to a continuous frontage or three or more HMOs. On the opposite (even numbered) side of the road but within 100 metres of number … Bournbrook Road, all but one or two of the houses are now HMOs. By comparison, along the whole of the odd numbered side of the road from the corner of Serpentine Road to Elmdon Road, we count 36 family dwelling houses and 7 HMOs.
Under the City Council’s ‘Selly Park Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan’ (CAAMP), the odd numbered side of Bournbrook Road is scheduled to join the Selly Park Conservation Area. The Conservation Area was designated by Birmingham City Council on 13th May 2009 in recognition of its status as an area of ‘spacious plots and generously proportioned architect designed residential properties, open spaces; a pocket of leafy suburbia close to Birmingham City Centre’. The proposed conversion of the building to an HMO and the construction of a new first floor flat roof is clearly out of keeping with that description. The development would therefore conflict with the National Planning Policy Framework and with policies TP12 and PG3 of the Birmingham Development Plan (BDP).
Note: the odd numbered side of Bournbrook Road became part of the Conservation Area in August 2022.
Guidance on windows in listed buildings and conservation areas
- If the window is of low significance, for example; being: a modern replica, of poor or inappropriate design, made from inferior materials, or relating to a later and less significant part of the building, the windows can be considered for replacement.
- Where a historic window is required to be replaced due to poor condition, then a like-for-like (design, profile, position, materials, opening mechanism and colour finish) replacement should be reintroduced.
- The installation of upvc double glazed windows will not be accepted in listed buildings and will only be considered for conservation area buildings and locally listed buildings where they are replacing existing inappropriate window designs and the new window will accurately replicate or reinstate the historic appearance of the building.
- If the issue is thermal upgrading to homes then double-glazing will only be acceptable where slim line glazing units can be used without increasing the dimensions of the frame from the historic template. In these instances, the glazing bars should be structural and not applied to the surface of the glass. The installation of slim line double glazed units into historic windows will be considered where historic glass has already been lost and the frames can accept the units without substantial modification.
Solar Panels
Legal update
General Permitted Development Order ( regarding Solar Panels, BCC legal collegues have confirmed this is covered by Schedule 2 Part 14 Class A and NOT Schedule 2 Part 1 Class C of the GPDO.
Feedback from PMOM on potential Article 3:
At BCC Planning Management meeting on 1 st November regarding the potential of applying Article 3 regarding the installation of Solar Panels in a Conservation Area it was considered that in light of the Climate Change Emergency Declaration that this approach would send out the wrong message and would deviate from the national position, which is that we want to support this type of development. However, we understand SPPOA is partially in agreement with this stance but would like development to be carried out whereby it is sensitive to the local heritage assets. We had pretty much reached this conclusion, but I wanted to raise it with BCC Senior Management to ensure we were all in agreement.
Schedule 2 Part 14 Class A covers PD rights for “installation, alteration or replacement of microgeneration solar PV or solar thermal equipment on a dwellinghouse” in all circumstances, regardless of which elevation it is on and regardless of whether it is in a conservation area or not.
To summarise in very simplistic terms, subject to compliance with the other limitations in A 1 and the conditions in A2 of Schedule 2 Part 14 Class A (see below under full extract from GPDO), installing solar panels on any part of a roof slope would be classed as permitted development in conservation areas, unless it would involve installing the solar panels on a wall fronting the highway in a conservation area.
Full extract from GPDO
PART 14
Renewable energy
Class – A installation or alteration etc of solar equipment on domestic premises
Permitted development
A. The installation, alteration or replacement of microgeneration solar PV or solar
thermal equipment on –
(a) dwellinghouse or a block of flats; or
(b) a building situated within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse or a block of flats.
Development not permitted
A.1. Development is not permitted by Class A if –
(a) the solar PV or solar thermal equipment would protrude more than 0.2 metres beyond the plane of the wall or the roof slope when measured from the perpendicular with the external surface of the wall or roof slope;
(b) it would result in the highest part of the solar PV or solar thermal equipment being higher than the highest part of the roof (excluding any chimney);
(c) in the case of land within a conservation area or which is a World Heritage Site the solar PV or solar thermal equipment would be installed on a wall which fronts a highway;
(d) the solar PV or solar thermal equipment would be installed on a site designated as a scheduled monument; or
(e) the solar PV or solar thermal equipment would be installed on a building within the curtilage of the dwellinghouse or block of flats if the dwellinghouse or block of flats is a listed building.
Conditions
A.2. Development is permitted by Class A subject to the following conditions –
(a) solar PV or solar thermal equipment is, so far as practicable, sited so as to minimise its effect on the external appearance of the building;
(b) solar PV or solar thermal equipment is, so far as practicable, sited so as to minimise its effect on the amenity of the area; and
(c) solar PV or solar thermal equipment is removed as soon as reasonably practicable when no longer needed.
Requested Link
This is probably the best summary which is easy to understand: