Community

Charlbury Conservation Area Advisory Committee

What the Committee is

From Alvescot and Asthall to Woodstock and Wootton, West Oxfordshire has over 50 Conservation Areas, but only one community – Charlbury – has a committee set up specifically to offer advice to the District Council about the potential impact of planning applications on the town’s historic built environment. Established by the County Council in February 1974, a few weeks before the formation of WODC, Charlbury’s Conservation Area is not only recognised for its significance but has long been considered to be sufficiently important to warrant the input of local expertise in protecting it.

The creation of WODC from the area’s old borough and rural district councils brought to the new council the responsibility for scrutinising planning applications. Shortly afterwards, WODC formed the Charlbury Conservation Area Advisory Committee (CCAAC) with the purpose of assisting its officers and councillors with their decision-making on applications from the town.

Charlbury’s Conservation Area acquired its present boundary in 1990. Today, it covers the whole of the town and extensive areas of the countryside to the north, east and south; the railway line forms the area’s boundary to the west. By definition, a Conservation Area is “a place of special architectural or historic interest that has a particular character or appearance worthy of preservation or enhancement. It is this character, rather than individual buildings, that Conservation Area status seeks to protect.”

From the outset, WODC intended that the members of the CCAAC should represent as wide a range of local expertise and interest as possible. Both of Charlbury’s district councillors are members, together with two town councillors and one representative who is elected at the annual Parish Meeting. The Charlbury Society nominates a member of the committee, as does the local branch of CPRE. In addition, people who have particular knowledge and understanding of the importance of Conservation Areas are co-opted to it.

The original committee in 1974 included three architects and a town planner amongst its number, together with Mrs Juler (our county councillor at the time) and Bill Campbell, teacher and respected naturalist. Local historian Lois Hey took on the role of secretary to the committee. Since that time, past and present members have provided the committee with a long-term perspective of the potential impact of planning applications on the Conservation Area. Today’s committee continues in the same vein, drawing on a wide range of local interest as well as the liaison provided by our district and town councillors.

What the Committee does

Conservation Areas were first introduced by the 1967 Civic Amenities Act, which required local planning authorities ‘to determine which parts of their areas are of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance, and to designate such areas as Conservation Areas.’ The present primary legislation relating to Conservation Areas remains the 1990 Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act.

The CCAAC acts as a local advisory committee to WODC’s Uplands Planning Sub-Committee on all planning applications affecting the Conservation Area. Under its constitution, the Committee’s purpose is “not only to consider planning applications but also to advise on all steps to maintain, improve and enhance the character and appearance of the Charlbury Conservation Area.”

The CCAAC’s function is purely advisory, and, unlike the Town Council, it is not a statutory consultee for Charlbury planning applications. It reports independently to WODC on a regular basis, offering its advice on the most recent applications affecting properties that lie within the boundaries of the Conservation Area.

The Committee normally meets on the last Thursday of each month – earlier in December – in the Green Room at the Memorial Hall. While its main business is to consider the month’s planning applications, it is also free to discuss any relevant issues affecting the Conservation Area. Following each meeting, its advice is sent to WODC’s planning department and to the individual planning and conservation officers dealing with the applications discussed.

The CCAAC’s meetings are open to anyone who wishes to attend as an observer, and the Committee will consider views from members of the public where these relate specifically to Conservation Area matters for a particular planning application.

Committee members 2026

Sarah Potter (Chairman and Charlbury Society representative)

Peter Smith (Vice-chairman) – co-opted

Juliet West (Hon. Secretary) – co-opted

Liz Leffman (WODC representative)

Andrew Graham (WODC representative)

Roy Scott (Town Councillor)

Tony Vetters (Town Councillor)

Simon Walker (Elected at the annual Parish Meeting)

Sue Woolley (Art Society representative)

Di Gold (Garden Society representative)

Philippa Phelan (CPRE representative)

Tony Merry – co-opted

Nick Way – co-opted

How to contact the Committee

If you would like to contact the Committee, please email the Secretary: julietwest@ymail.com

CCAAC: Advice on recent planning applications

Please refer to the individual applications, which can be found on WODC’s planning portal: https://www.westoxon.gov.uk/planning-and-building/planning-permission/

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