The Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester has 21 diverse conservation areas, ranging from affluent Edwardian suburbs to rural medieval villages. We worked closely with Trafford Borough Council to understand the significance and characteristics of their conservation areas and how they should be managed.
Our work for the council resulted in two successive commissions resulting in appraisals for 12 and management plans for all 21 conservation areas, including a review of the boundaries and recommendations for suitability of Article 4 Directions. An important element of the work at this stage was ensuring that new management policies aligned with existing planning policy, requiring close liaison with the Borough’s planning officers.
Both the appraisals and management plans
underwent public consultation. In the absence of a conservation officer, the
Council extended our original scope of work to include providing formal
responses to the comments received during the consultation period. Our
appraisals and management plans have all been formally adopted as Supplementary
Planning Guidance.
We have continued to work with Trafford Council beyond this commission, giving planning and development advice on new applications and providing expertise on public realm changes within the conservation areas. This has led to work with developers on schemes to enhance the borough, particularly around the Town Hall.