CH9 Port Sunlight Conservation Area Policy
In relation to Port Sunlight Conservation Area the principal planning objectives for the area will be to:
(i) preserve the planned layout of the village and unifying features, such as the scale, massing, and design of buildings ,including the use of superblocks, together with their landscape setting;
(ii) to retain the historic factory frontage overlooking the village from Wood Street; and
(iii) to preserve the visual setting of the Church and Art Gallery, including the formal axis of The Diamond.
Priority will be given to retaining primarily residential uses within the Area and notwithstanding designation as Urban Greenspace, to preserving the formal character and layout of the open spaces and landscaped areas designated under Proposal GR2.
Reasoned justification :
11.29 Port Sunlight was designated a Conservation Area in March 1978. The Village is an innovative, planned settlement conceived by William Lever in order to house the workers of his nearby soap and chemical works. It has an international reputation as an early and classic example of English philanthropy, which combined a concern for sanitary living conditions with the objective of providing an attractive, landscaped suburb for the working classes.
11.30 The Village still represents a residential environment of rare quality within the built-up area. The objective of Policy CH9 is, therefore, to retain and preserve essential elements in the "planned" form, layout and architectural detail of the Village. This especially includes the formal layout of open spaces which provide the setting for prominent "public" buildings, such as Christchurch and the Lady Lever Art Gallery. Policy CH9 also provides for the primarily domestic character and scale of the Village to be preserved and for the historic factory frontage to be retained as a continuing reminder of the purpose and history of the Area.