Policy DBC2: Cumnor Conservation Area
- Development proposals within the Conservation Area, as shown on the Policies Maps (page 63) and map 9 (below), and its setting, should preserve or enhance its significance as a designated heritage asset.
- In doing so, proposals should have regard to the following essential principles as appropriate to their scale, nature and location within the conservation area development:
- Locating buildings at rear-of-footway or with a limited setback to the building frontage to complement the existing building lines
- Enhancing and not encroaching into key spaces and settings, including the central open area and fishponds, the open space around St Michael’s Church and Cumnor Place (site of Cumnor Hall)
- Complementing authentic vernacular materials, including limestone rubble, brickwork, lime render, slate and thatch;
- Using stone boundary walls;
- Complementing the varied and informal quality of the built environment.
- The policy highlights the key characteristics of the historic core, so that new development can reinforce and not harm those characteristics. The policy is not about stylistic prescription, but about complementing the spatial and built character and preserving or enhancing key spaces.
- In considering the impacts of development on the character or appearance of the Conservation Area, regard should be paid to the guidance set out in the Cumnor Conservation Area report adopted by the Vale of White Horse District Council in January 20111