A report seeking Committee approval to publish the draft Christchurch Conservation Area Appraisal for public consultation. A short presentation will also be given by representatives of the Reading Conservation Area Advisory Committee (CAAC).

The Committee considered a report that sought approval of the draft Christchurch Conservation Area Appraisal for public consultation between March and May 2024. The following documents were attached to the report:

The report explained that, following discussions over its approach to the historic environment, the Council had agreed to support the setting up of a Reading Conservation Areas Advisory Committee (CAAC). One of the primary concerns of the CAAC was the length of time since many conservation area appraisals had been prepared and adopted. According to best practice appraisals should be updated every five to ten years and many of these appraisals were therefore in need of review. It was subsequently agreed that the CAAC would lead on reviews of conservation area appraisals in consultation with local communities. The Christchurch Conservation Area had first been designated on 19 November 1987 under the Town & Country Planning Act 1971 (as amended) and the most recent full conservation area appraisal had been produced in 2010.

The report explained that the draft Christchurch Conservation Area Appraisal was the third review to be completed, following the St Peters Conservation Area review in 2018 and the Castle Hill/Russell Street/Oxford Road review in 2020. The draft Appraisal had been prepared by the CAAC, with assistance from Council planning officers and from interested local community representatives. The draft Appraisal contained various recommendations for boundary extensions, that included:

·                The addition of 1-81 (odd) and 70-72 Whitley Street;

·                The addition of the mainly terraced properties at 114-128 (even) Whitley Street and 2-34 (even) Basingstoke Road;

·                The addition of Reading Hindu Temple on Whitley Street;

·                The addition of 2-40 (even) and 1-27 (odd) Milman Road;

·                The addition of 1-11 Glebe Road (odd) and 23-25 (odd) and 12 Christchurch Gardens;

·                The addition of 8-26 (even) and 11 Cintra Avenue as well as the green to the east and 32-34 Christchurch Road.

The draft Appraisal and associated documents also included maps that showed the proposed boundary extensions (see above), a Statement of Special Interest that summarised the area’s character and justified its designation as a Conservation Area, a detailed appraisal of the area that described its particular historical and architectural character, a section highlighting the area's negative features including various issues of concern and opportunities for enhancement and, a section that made recommendations that were set out in an Action Plan.It also included details of the results an initial public consultation that had been conducted by the CAAC in 2022.

The report asked the Committee to approve the draft Appraisal to go out for public consultation which would take place over an eight week period in March and May 2024. The results of the consultation would feed into a revised final version of the Christchurch Conservation Area Appraisal which would be adopted later in 2024.

At the invitation of the Chair, Evelyn Williams, Chair of the Reading CAAC and Richard Bennett, Vice-Chair of the Reading CAAC, gave a presentation on the work that had been carried out by the CAAC to conduct the review and to prepare the draft Appraisal. They also provided a short summary of the progress that had been made by the CAAC in 2023.

Resolved –

(1)           That the Draft Christchurch Conservation Area Appraisal, attached to the report at Appendix 2, be approved for consultation;

(2)           That the Assistant Director of Planning, Transport and Public Protection be authorised to make any minor amendments necessary to the Draft Christchurch Conservation Area Appraisal in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Planning and Assets, prior to the start of consultation on the draft document;

(3)      That the Conservation Area Advisory Committee’s 2023 Progress Update, attached to the report at Appendix 3, be noted.