CH14 Heswall Lower Village Conservation Area Policy
In relation to Heswall Lower Village Conservation Area the principal planning objectives for the area will be to:
(i) preserve the character of the old village core, including the setting and character of its former farm buildings and cottage scale dwellings;
(ii) preserve the character and setting of the surrounding area characterised by substantial property in large, well-landscaped grounds and by the denser more modest scale development to the north of Dawstone Park;
(iii) retain unifying features such as stone walls, the character of narrow lanes such as School Hill, Brow Lane, West Grove and Feather Lane and areas of mature landscaping.
Notwithstanding designation as Urban Greenspace under Proposal GR2, special attention will be given to retaining the historic character of Dawstone Park.
Reasoned justification :
11.42 Heswall Lower Village Conservation Area was designated in April 1979. Its boundaries are drawn to encompass the original nucleus of the small fishing village which pre-dated the suburban expansion of Heswall after the arrival of the railway in the late nineteenth century, as well as some of the earliest and best of the later suburban development.
11.43 The heart of the original settlement, based around Village Road, Raby Close and The Lydiate, can still be discerned and retains much of the character of a typical English Village, including its church and rectory, public house, village hall, shops and groups of cottage scale dwellings, and former farm buildings such as Lydiate Farm and The Old Smithy. One objective of Policy CH14 is, therefore, to ensure that the distinctive character of the old village continues to be preserved.
11.44 Policy CH14 also seeks to preserve the setting and appearance of the surrounding area. This area can be split into two distinct segments: the area characterised by substantial houses set in large grounds, situated towards and along Dawstone Road; and the more clustered modest scale development, based around Dee View Road, The Mount and the upper part of School Hill. In accordance with Policy CH14, new proposals will be required to reflect the specific character of the sub-area in which it is located.
11.45 The special character of Dawstone Park, and the significance of its location at the junction of these three distinct areas in the historic development of the Village, also merits special protection. Policy CH14, therefore, provides for the historic character of this open space to be preserved.