1. The Heritage and Specialist Services Team Osney Island Residents Association AGM 07.04.11

2. What the team manage Listed buildings Other old buildings Conservation areas Archaeology Trees Ecology

3. Where we are involved? Reactive –Determining some applications and advising on others Pro-active –Advising building owners on conservation management –Advising prospective applicants –Appraising conservation areas and proposed areas –Developing grant schemes –Identifying ‘the historic’ to be sustained during regeneration or development – West End and Barton –Other studies – The Oxford Heritage Plan, Oxford Landscape Character, View Cones, Local List (?) –advising on public realm works and strategic planning documents –Promoting Oxford’s heritage

4. How we advise building owners Principles of Conservation Management –Know what you are dealing with –Find out what is special about it –Find any issues that might affect its special value –Identify what you need to do to sustain the special and overcome the issues

5. How about you? So you want to … convert your attic, build an extension, add solar panels, improve your insulation. How can you do this in a conservation area or historic building?

6. What have you got? What sort of building are you dealing with? What are its surroundings like? –How about using the Oxford Character Assessment Toolkit? –Have you checked the conservation area’s character appraisal? –What does the Article 4 Direction control?

7. The Article 4 Direction Front facing roof slopes – materials and roof lights Rendering, plastering or painting external walls Satellite dishes Chimneys Rainwater goods Front facing windows and doors and their openings

8. What is special about it? Uniformity or diversity? Well preserved architectural scheme – The Georgian cabinet with all the knobs on? Local or age specific materials? Are spaces defined by a particular history of development Activity Views – do any stand out as of particular interest, where is the building in the view? Greenery – What contribution does it make to the scene?

9. What could threaten its specialness? Deterioration, missed maintenance Good intentions Unsympathetic change –loss of special features – removed or hidden –introduction of new, poorly contrasting features –Can be dependent on changing taste and fashion Bad neighbours?

10. What could threaten its specialness? Some impartiality …(?) English Heritage asked 147 estate agency branch managers what affected the value of properties in Conservation Areas 75% believe that a well-maintained Conservation Area adds to the value of the properties within it. Residential properties in Conservation Areas tend to sell for more than equivalent properties outside a Conservation Area. 82% felt original features add financial value to properties 78% thought that they help a property to sell more quickly. But … Unsympathetic replacement windows and doors was the biggest threat to property values identified in Conservation Areas. Poorly maintained highways or paving, and unsympathetic extensions and alterations, are also particular problems. 82% of estate agents believe that few, if any of their clients understand the additional controls in Conservation Areas.

11. Conserving the special value Thinking about windows –Does it really need replacing? Plastic is not cheaper, longer lasting or more environmentally friendly –Shapes, arches, lintels, sills –Patterns of glazing – anything special? –Do they line up? –Glass – can it be saved? –Energy efficiency and historic character?

12. Conserving the special value Thinking about walls Bricks are a very distinctive material. –Colour, texture, form and pattern (bond) –Hand moulded, stock or wire cut (texture and light)? –Imperial sizes? –Flemish bond? –New or recycled? –Suppliers (start at buildingconservation.com), but also check mass manufacturers product lines. –What about mortar? Lime mortar may prolong the life of your brickwork

13. Conserving the special value Removing old paint – would you strip and repaint your own car? “Pointing something that looks like artillery at your house is likely to end in damage.” Is paint part of the design? Does your house need to breath?

14. Conserving the special value Looking up – What’s on the roof? Do you dormer window? Options with roof lights – long, narrow and flat How do they line up with the neighbours’ and the existing fenestration What’s so good about Welsh slate? Looks right, saves you time, could save you money, will save carbon. Replacing rainwater goods – salvage or new

15. Conserving the special value So much for solar panels? Initiatives to reduce our contribution to climate change are high on the Council’s agenda. Where these involve historic buildings it may require some careful planning to preserve the special interest of the area Many buildings in Osney are not ideally oriented for roof based solar panels We would advise keeping them off the front slope to avoid detracting from the historic character of the area No reason not to put them on rear slopes or outbuildings if you have them. Are they the best response to reducing carbon and saving money? Alternatively … how about some community action to use roofs at Osney Mead?

16. We cannot manage the historic environment without you! Robert Lloyd-Sweet, Senior Conservation Officer, Oxford City Council rlloyd-sweet@oxford.gov.uk Tel. 01865 252804