Newark and Sherwood residents to be consulted on conservation area review

Consultation events are planned in Newark and Southwell to gather feedback from the public as part of a district council conservation area review.

A review seeks to ensure the conservation areas in Newark and Sherwood remain relevant and meaningful.

To help determine this, the council’s conservation team will use a series of consultation events to assess the public’s knowledge and thoughts on what they think is special about the conservation areas, the challenges they present and what we should consider in the boundary review.

Newark’s conservation area appears on Historic England’s At Risk Register where it is described as very bad.

Officers from the district council’s team will be available to talk about the conservation area and have material for the public to view.

The consultation events take place in Southwell Market Place on Saturday, November 27, from 9am to noon; Bramley Library on King Street on Tuesday, November 30, 7.30pm until 9.30pm; and in Newark Market Place on Saturday, December 4, 9am to noon.

Feedback gathered at these events will help inform the conservation area appraisal documents and be available for the public to view in due course.

District council deputy leader Keith Girling said: “Conservation area designation offers a positive way to manage change in our area in a way that conserves and enhances historic areas.

“The district council also has a legal duty to review existing or add new conservation areas according to planning legislation.

“Therefore, it is important that we undertake a thorough review of the conservation areas in Newark and Southwell to confirm whether any boundary revisions are needed or, in exceptional circumstances, if we need to reconsider the conservation area designation as a whole.

“These consultation events will allow the residents of Southwell and Newark to have their say on our conservations areas. Therefore, I encourage anyone who can make it to take the opportunity to attend one of these consultation events and talk to our conservation team.”

Conservation areas in Ollerton, also designated very bad on the At Risk Register, and Laxton, will also be reviewed.

More information about conservation areas in Newark and Sherwood can be found at www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/conservationareas/