Cliff Terrace circa 1900

On the eve of MP Laura Sandys Cliftonville Conservation public meeting, Thanet District Council has published the seven Draft Cliftonville character appraisal documents and many people have been asking to see sight of them for years. The appraisal documents were commissioned and paid for by English Heritage and were completed in 2011. So it is a hugely big deal for these documents to now be released and up for consultation.

So go download them and tell Thanet Council what you think: 
http://thanet.gov.uk/your-services/planning-policy/heritage-strategy/draft-plans/

There are seven areas up for consultation and this is a first step towards them achieving Conservation Area status. 

Politicians from all sides of the political spectrum have popped up saying the other side won't work with them. Then they've all popped up to say they will. So thank goodness for that. We can all now look forward to people sitting around the same table working out how best to preserve and enhance the wonderful built environment in Cliftonville. 

The seven proposed areas are:

Draft Edgar Road and Sweyne Road Character Appraisal (PDF)

Draft Grotto Hill Character Appraisal (PDF)

Draft Northdown Road Character Appraisal Part 1  (PDF)

Draft Northdown Road Character Appraisal Part 2  (PDF)

Draft Cliftonville Clifftop Character Appraisal  (PDF)

Draft Ethelbert Road and Athelstan Road Character Appraisal  (PDF)

Draft Norfolk Road and Surrey Road Character Appraisal  (PDF)

Guest blogger: Councillor David Green on Cliftonville Conservation Areas

It's now the turn of Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning Services, Councillor David Green as guest blogger.

"Members of the council have agreed to consult on the future designation of a conservation site for Cliftonville with reference to the appraisals undertaken by the council.

Preserving the heritage and important historic architecture of Cliftonville is a key part of the wider regeneration here and we recognize the benefits that formally designated Conservation Areas can bring.

We’d like to begin consulting with residents to build support for future management of any conservation area and discuss the area this could cover. Our aim is to develop this in a way that is manageable and sustainable, complementing the wider regeneration of the area.

This consultation will be in parallel with work to develop a new Design Code for Cliftonville which the council has initiated. This sees the council working in partnership with the local community so that they can be directly involved in how their town develops.

This is a great opportunity for local people to give their views on the appraisal documents and to set out how they would like to see conservation taken forward in the future.

The comments received will be used to feed into the development of the new Cliftonville Design Code which residents will have the opportunity to contribute to at a public event in April.

Residents can share their views on these appraisal documents by e-mailing consultation@thanet.gov.uk or writing to Consultation, Thanet District Council, PO Box 9, Margate, CT9 1XZ.

Louise, could I ask you and your colleagues to encourage as many cliftonville residents as possible to respond."

An open letter from Councillor Julie Marson to Councillor Will Scobie

The guest blog theme continues... Councillor Julie Marson responds to Councillor Will Scobie.

Dear Cllr Scobie

I am pleased that you are on board with our commitment to the conservation of Cliftonville and very glad that you are keen to implement these conservation designation areas soon. As you are aware Laura and I have been campaigning on this for almost a year.

Since the administration amended my motion to exclude certain areas and to phase the designation, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss my and the residents' real concerns about implementation with the Labour administration. I would also like to extend the invitation to include Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, Cllr David Green, since his decisions will be critical to the success of conservation in Cliftonville.

Yours

Cllr Julie Marson

Follow Julie Marson on Twitter
Julie Marson's speech to Thanet Council Thursday February 27th 2013 (Word Doc)

Open letter to Councillor Julie Marson and Laura Sandys MP from Councillor Will Scobie

I think this is the first open letter and guest blogger I've featured here on Margate Architecture. Following the debate last night across the council chamber regarding the proposed Cliftonville Conservation Area roll out. Councillor Will Scobie has penned an open letter. oh, and congrats to Will and Jodie on getting married!

p.s. Please do pop in to tomorrow's Margate Neighbourhood Plan Forum public meeting:

2pm-4pm 
Cliftonville Community Centre, St Paul's Road, Cliftonville.
Details here:
http://margateneighbourhoodplanforum.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/public-meeting-march-1st-margate-neighbourhood-plan-forum/

Open letter to Julie Marson and Laura Sandys – Conservation areas in Cliftonville

Dear Julie and Laura,

I would like to suggest that we meet to discuss the issue of conservation areas in Cliftonville so that we can work together on this important issue. I have been a vocal supporter of conservation areas in Cliftonville since I was elected to represent the area in May 2013. I think that by working together we can make sure that we have a scheme that protects the historical beauty of Cliftonville. The motion that was presented by Julie at the meeting of Thanet District Council on the 27^thFebruary unfortunately failed to get cross-party support for the scheme. We have the opportunity here to change that.

I feel that we mostly agree about conservation areas in Cliftonville and that a meeting would allow us to form a common position. Unfortunately in modern politics we spend far too much time talking about the things we disagree on rather than focusing on areas of agreement. This open letter is an attempt to try and get past this.

The areas that we disagree on are over the extent of the conservation areas and whether this can be done at once or phased over time. I am happy to discuss both of these issues. I did not support Julie’s original motion that proposed going beyond the English Heritage appraisals because we were presented with no evidence that residents wanted it extended to these areas. Nor were Council members provided with any factual evidence of the need to conserve these additional areas. However we can certainly discuss this and I will listen to your ideas. If there is a desire from residents for their area to be included, or if there is a factual case for it to be extended to other areas, then I am prepared to listen and talk about this openly.

Similarly I am also happy to discuss whether the conservation areas should be brought in at once or phased. I opposed them being done simultaneously because after speaking with Conservation and Planning Officers at the Council it became apparent that we not have adequate resources to do this. My worry would be that this could impact heavily upon conservation work taking place elsewhere in Thanet and potentially be very costly if rushed. If you have a proposal on how we can deliver conservation areas simultaneously with the resources available then I am prepared to listen to your views.

I hope that you will take me up on my offer because if we can agree a common position then it will send a clear message that politics in Thanet is changing. It will also allow us to deliver something incredibly important for the people of Cliftonville. I hope that we can put party politics aside for the good of Cliftonville.

Yours sincerely,

Will Scobie.

Kent County Councillor for Margate and Cliftonville and Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for South Thanet.

Ed: follow Will on twitter 
Will Scobie's blog