Background
We have been reviewing our Conservation Area Advisory Committees and engaging with key stakeholders on how we can help them work better.
Conservation Area Advisory Committees (CAACs) are a way for members of the general public, with an interest in heritage, to help the council manage and protect the historic environment. They allow amenity societies, independent experts, and local residents and businesses to get involved with the planning process. The groups are voluntary and tend to be attended by local residents.
The main role of CAACs in the planning process is to provide a local focus on design, conservationContinue reading
Background
We have been reviewing our Conservation Area Advisory Committees and engaging with key stakeholders on how we can help them work better.
Conservation Area Advisory Committees (CAACs) are a way for members of the general public, with an interest in heritage, to help the council manage and protect the historic environment. They allow amenity societies, independent experts, and local residents and businesses to get involved with the planning process. The groups are voluntary and tend to be attended by local residents.
The main role of CAACs in the planning process is to provide a local focus on design, conservation and heritage matters. They assist the council in the formulation of policies and guidance for their conservation area and act as a continuing source of advice on planning issues. We inform CAACs of planning applications and relevant planning policy consultations, and welcome their assistance and views.
However, in 2017 our Planning Committee commissioned a review of the Conservation Area Advisory Committees (CAACs) to consider their effectiveness, inclusivity, profile and other matters.
The review recognised the benefits and expertise that Barnet’s CAACs bring to scrutinising planning applications within their Conservation Areas, but also identified that not all CAACs had constitutions or functioning committees. Furthermore, the review found that CAACs were operating very differently to each other, with little borough-wide knowledge sharing. To improve the consistency and reach across the borough’s sixteen Conservation Areas, a borough-wide approach is required.
Proposed Heritage Advisory Panel
To help improve the consistency and reach across the borough we intend to establish a borough-wide Heritage Advisory Panel. The panel will deal with all kinds of significant heritage, including:
- listed buildings (buildings of special architectural or historic interest)
- conservation areas (areas of special architectural or historic interest)
- buildings on the Council’s Local List
- other designated heritage
- other non-designated heritage
For further information on the proposed Heritage Advisory Panel please read our consultation document.
We would like to hear your views on our proposed panel, how it should operate and other related heritage matters. We have also contacted all the current CAAC groups, along with other local stakeholder groups for their views, but we would like to hear the views of everyone in the community.
Give us your views
Please take the time to read our consultation document and then give us your views on our proposals by completing the online questionnaire.
For any further information, or to request a questionnaire in an alternative format, please telephone 020 8359 3000. Alternatively, you can write to us at CAAC consultation, London Borough of Barnet, Planning Department, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London, NW9 4EW.
