Policy information sourced from City of London Charterhouse Square Character Summary and Management Strategy SPD

Charterhouse Square Conservation Area

This character summary and management strategy provides an understanding of the significance of the conservation area by identifying and analysing its principal characteristics. It does not include specific detail about every building and feature within the area, and any omission from the text should not be interpreted as an indication of lesser significance. The character summary and management strategy has been prepared in line with the English Heritage document Understanding Place: Conservation Area Designation, Appraisal and Management (2011).

This document was adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document to the City of London’s LDF Core Strategy on 31 January 2012. It should be read in conjunction with the Core Strategy, saved policies from the City’s Unitary Development Plan and other guidance, including ‘Conservation Areas in the City of London, A General Introduction to their Character’ (1994) which has more information on the history and character of the City.

National policy

The Civic Amenities Act, 1967, gave Local Authorities the power to designate Conservation Areas, and these powers are now contained in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.

The Government intends to replace all existing Planning Policy Statements with a new, concise, single statement of policy, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which is due to be adopted in early 2012. For up to date references to national planning policy please check the Department for Communities and Local Government website.

London-wide policy

The London Plan (2011) forms part of the statutory development plan for the City of London and must be taken into account when considering development within the conservation area. Key policies to consider are: policies 7.8 ‘Heritage assets and archaeology’ and 7.9 ‘Heritage-led regeneration’.

City of London policy

Planning policy in the City of London is contained within the Local Development Framework Core Strategy and a number of saved policies from the 2002 Unitary Development Plan (UDP). The UDP policies will be superseded upon the adoption of the Development Management DPD in 2013.

Development proposals within the conservation area have to be considered in the context of all the policies in the Core Strategy and the 55 saved policies from the UDP. Particular account will need to be taken of Core Strategy policies CS5 ‘North of the City’, CS10 ‘Design’, CS12 ‘Historic Environment’, and CS13 ‘Protected Views’. Saved UDP policies include ENV 11 ‘Development in Conservation Areas’ and ENV 13 ‘Conservation Areas: Premature Demolition’, and ECON6 ‘Mixed Uses in Smithfield’.

Protected views

London Plan policies 7.11 and 7.12 set out a ‘London View Management Framework’ (LVMF) which seeks to protect strategic views across the capital. The LVMF is explained in more detail in the Mayor’s Supplementary Planning Guidance (2010, currently under review). In the Charterhouse Square Conservation Area, the following LVMF Protected Vista needs to be considered:

  • 1A.2 Alexandra Palace to St Paul’s: Left Lateral Assessment Area.

Development proposals in this area must be designed or sited so that they preserve or enhance the viewer’s ability to recognise and appreciate the Strategically Important Landmark, in this case St. Paul’s Cathedral. Further detail can be found in the London View Management Framework SPG.

The character summary identifies a number of distant and local views that contribute to the character of the conservation area. Proposals will be assessed for their potential effect on these and other views of significant individual buildings, townscape or skylines.

The City of London Protected Views SPD (2012) outlines protected views of St Paul’s Cathedral, the Monument, Tower of London World Heritage Site and other historic landmarks and skyline features protected and managed by planning policies in the LDF Core Strategy (2011) and Mayor’s London Plan (2011).

Sustainability and climate change

The City of London is committed to being at the forefront of action in response to climate change and other sustainability challenges that face high density urban environments. In particular, areas will need to be resilient to warmer wetter winters, hotter drier summers and more frequent extreme weather events.

In adapting to meet these challenges, it is important that sustainable development is sensitive to the historic environment. Development, including the incorporation of climate change adaptation measures, should have regard to the need to protect the historic significance of heritage assets.

Issues specifically relevant to Charterhouse Square Conservation Area:

  • The garden and mature trees of Charterhouse Square, outside the City boundary, make a strong contribution to the biodiversity of the area.
  • In order to minimise the risks of flooding elsewhere in the City, new development schemes will be expected to make use of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) including rainwater harvesting systems and green roofs.
  • The Citigen Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Network currently runs in close proximity to the conservation area, from Charterhouse Street beneath Smithfield Market and along Long Lane.

The Core Strategy policy CS15 provides guidance on sustainable development and climate change and policy CS18 on Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS). Policy CS5 North of the City includes references to sustainability. These will be supplemented by policies in the forthcoming Development Management DPD, and the City has produced a Climate Change Adaption Strategy (Revised and Updated January 2010).

For more site specific information please see the Character Summary and Management Strategy SPD