Page 31 - HG10

BCD Special Report

Historic Gardens 2010

31

a listed site which is a concept developed

to

safeguard

areas adjacent to the historic parks and

gardens which, although outside them, form an

essential part of their immediate background and

without which, in their present state, the historic

character of the site in question would be diluted and

damaged.

Interpretation in a planning context

of the extent of the setting has proved to be

flexible in response to the scale and nature

of the impact of proposed development.

One such important precedent was

set in the planning inquiry into the appeal

against the refusal of planning permission

to site a windfarm in the vicinity of the

Grade I site of Margam Park, Port Talbot

(2003). The Inspector refused the appeal

concluding that the turbines would have a

major effect upon the park’s setting despite

being located beyond the outer limit of

the park’s essential setting. The Inspector

accepted that the Essential Setting was an

area of particular sensitivity outside the

registered area, but that did not mean that

‘

all development outside the Essential Setting,

of whatever nature, must therefore be regarded

as not affecting either the park or its setting’.

The consultation process

The consultation procedure for planning

applications affecting register sites in

Wales differs fundamentally from that in

England and Scotland. Currently, voluntary

arrangements exist for consultation with Cadw

and the Garden History Society on planning

applications affecting parks and gardens and

their settings on the

Register

(PPW 2002 para

6.5.23). Local planning authorities are asked

to consult Cadw on planning applications

impacting Grade I and II* sites and the

Garden History Society (GHS) on applications

impacting all parks and gardens on the register

(Welsh Office Circular 61/96 Annex B). This

arrangement has had unintended consequences,

not least because the GHS no longer

employs a case officer in Wales and therefore

no longer responds directly to planning

applications affecting sites on the

Register

.

As the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust

has effectively taken over the role of the

GHS in Wales, an arrangement has been

established whereby the WHGT is indirectly

informed of planning applications referred

to the GHS; but delays can ensue.

Ideally, all planning applications to

local planning authorities (LPAs) require

weekly monitoring by Cadw and amenity

bodies such as the GHS and Welsh Historic

Gardens Trust as unfortunately not all LPAs

actively seek consultation. The work of

WHGT branch conservation officers and

the central co-ordinator is undertaken on

a purely voluntary basis; there has been

no government funding to date. The task

is demanding, particularly where branches

have to cover several LPAs. The posting

of weekly planning application lists and

documents online has speeded up this process.

However, delays may ensue if documents

have to be requested, or if a trip must be

made to the planning offices to view plans.

The trust has a central Conservation

Committee to co-ordinate casework and

Planning policy in Wales

The current strategic planning guidance,

Planning Policy Wales (2002)

,

supplemented by

a

series of Technical Advisory Notes (TANs),

recognises the importance of protecting

the historic environment, encompassing

archaeology and ancient monuments, listed

buildings, conservation areas and historic parks,

gardens and landscapes. The contribution

of the historic environment to the Welsh

Assembly Government’s wider strategic

objectives is set out in

Wales: A Better Country,

The Wales Spatial and Environment Strategy.

There

is also the imperative (introduced in 2009) for

Design and Access statements to accompany

planning applications which can and should

provide the opportunity for outlining

historic context and represents a positive

step by the Welsh Assembly Government.

Local planning authorities are required

by

Planning Policy Wales (2002)

to protect

sites listed on the

Cadw/ICOMOS Register of

Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest

in Wales

(para 6.5.23). The

Register

consists

of six main volumes, published between

1994 and 2002, and a supplementary

volume published in 2007. As in England

and Scotland, the inclusion of a site on the

Register

offers no statutory protection, but

para 6.5.23 of PPW (2002) states that:

The effect of proposed development on a park or

garden contained in the Register of Landscapes,

Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest

in Wales, or on the setting of such a park or

garden, may be a material consideration in the

determination of a planning application.

Inclusion in the Cadw/ICOMOS Register

is at the discretion of the owners and

currently about 30 sites have been omitted

from the

Register

at their owners’ requests.

A feature of the register, unique to Wales,

is the identification of the Essential Setting of

Hafod: walkers enjoy the 18th Century Ystwyth Gorge Walk, made accessible in 2002 by the restoration of the original

Middleton: the National Botanic Garden of Wales. The dome of the great glasshouse rears out of the landscape. In the

foreground the formerly neglected walled kitchen garden was laid out in 2004 to display plants according to their taxonomic