Cheadle Conservation Area Audit

The verdict is in: The character of our High Street is deteriorating.

For some time, Cheadle Civic Society has been concerned by the overall deterioration of our High Street in terms of its appearance.

 

Despite the fact our High Street sits within a recognised conservation area and is subject to special planning rules and regulations designed to protect its historic charm, the decline in the quality of some shop façades in recent years is clear for all to see.

 

Many landlords have, seemingly, been allowed to put their own commercial interests ahead of all other considerations – with some allowing their buildings to fall into disrepair and others altering shop fronts without any regard for the building’s heritage or the conservation area setting in which they have chosen to open that business.

 

We have tried to hold business owners to account – responding to planning application consultations and reporting planning breaches when appropriate – but the pace of this negative change increases every month.

 

Sadly, we are not convinced that Stockport Council has the appetite to tackle this problem. As long as business rates are being paid, the council seems happy to turn a blind eye to the negative impact the appearance some premises have on the character of the High Street.

 

In response to this issue, we commissioned Chambers Conservation - a RIBA chartered architectural practice that specialises in conservation areas - to conduct a full, independent audit of the High Street and the immediate surrounding area.

 

We wanted the opinion of an expert. Someone the council could not easily dismiss as an interested party reluctant to embrace change.

 

Today, we are publishing the report submitted to us by Chambers Conservation in full. 

 

Click here to view their report. 

 

The report identifies some of the worst physical contributing factors as:

 

  • Oversized, poor quality shop signs and displays
  • The removal of historic features
  • The quality of materials in use


It also highlights how administrative issues within the council (including outdated Supplementary Planning Guidance that lacks definitive advice) has contributed to the problem.

 

Chambers Conservation has also discovered that there have only been two cases of planning enforcement in the conservation area in the past five years - which does not reflect the significant rate of negative changes that have occurred without the proper permission.

 

The council’s own Cheadle Village Conservation Area Management Plan and Character Appraisal (which hasn’t been updated since 2012) outlines a number of recommendations that appear never to have been actioned.

 

One was the development of an Enforcement Strategy to identify and address inappropriate signage on Cheadle High Street. Chambers Conservation has been unable to find any evidence that any such strategy exists. Imagine the difference that could have made to the decline we have seen in the 14 years since it was suggested.

 

There was even talk of Stockport Council securing funding for the implementation of ‘sympathetic shopfront enhancement schemes’ within the conservation area. That certainly hasn’t happened, but think of the positive impact it would have had on the appearance of the High Street if it had.

 

Most important of all, the report outlines a number of positive actions that can be taken going forward to improve the situation. They include:

 

  • More rigorous enforcement of existing planning rules and regulations
  • The clarification of ‘Article 4’ planning guidelines which apply across the conservation area
  • The declaration of an ‘Area of Special Control of Advertisements’ to restrict overzealous shop signage
  • The creation of a new ‘Shop Front Design Guide’ for landlords to adhere to
  • The wider use of ‘Section 215 Notices’ to force landlords to maintain buildings to a higher standard.

 There are a number of buildings which Chambers Conservation suggest could be eligible for Local Listing and three which might qualify for National Listing – something which Cheadle Civic Society intends to pursue.

 

We are sending a copy of this report to Tom Morrison MP, to local councillors who represent wards across Cheadle, to all candidates standing in wards across Cheadle at the upcoming local elections and to the chief executive of Stockport Council.

 

We will be asking them to respond to the report’s findings in writing and make clear the role they are willing to play in helping us to reverse the decline of the conservation area.

 

We will be sharing those responses with the community so we are all able to hold them to account in the future.

 

We are also asking local residents to let us know their thoughts on the report so that we can include that feedback in future meetings with our elected representatives and council officials.


Please send your feedback to: contact@cheadlecivicsociety.uk

 




It’s time to not only draw a line in the sand but also begin to reverse the decline that has been allowed to take place.