Consultation planned for historic features in Weston town centre

3:47pm - 26 October 2021
Stone Walls

North Somerset Council is inviting the public to have their say as part of a consultation on retaining stone walls in Weston-super-Mare, which will run Tuesday 26 October – Tuesday 7 December 2021.  

Stone walls are an important part of the character and heritage of large parts of Weston’s Heritage Action Zone and in recent years many have been lost. The loss of stone walls decreases the visual cohesion of the area and reduces housing value. The Stonewall consultation will look to tackle this.

At present, walls over 1-metre-high need permission to be removed. To maintain the character of the area, it is proposed that owners will need to seek planning permission to remove external stone walls as an Article 4 Direction is introduced.

Councillor Mark Canniford, Executive Member for Business, Economy and Employment at North Somerset Council, said: “We’ve lost a significant amount of stone walls from town centre properties, which has changed the historic outlook of entire streets. Some walls have been lost to make room for parking, which reduces street parking spaces for other users, as well as completely changing the original features of the property.

“This consultation will allow the people of Weston to have their voice heard on the historic and aesthetic value of the town now and in the future.” 

North Somerset Council’s Heritage and Regeneration Champion, Cllr John Crockford- Hawley said: “It’s vital that we retain stonewalls, which are a characteristic feature of British towns and their heritage. Retaining original stone walls not only add value to properties, but it improves the look of streets and entire towns.”

This consultation will look at the regulation of planning around alterations on properties and their features in conservation areas, so we ask those living there to have their say.”

Public representations regarding the proposed Article 4 Directions are invited for a period of 6 weeks on North Somerset Council Consultation portal.

To read the documents and have your say:

Hard copies of the supporting documents are available at Weston Central Library.

Following an evaluation of the representations, an Executive Member decision will be made in December whether or not to proceed with the implementation of an Article 4 direction. If the decision is to proceed the Article 4 directions will come into force 9am on 01 February 2022.