New Move To Make the Glebe Estate a Conservation Area
Council says last attempt was frustrated by 'misinformation'
The area has a high number of two storey Victorian terraced cottages. Picture: Google Streetview
December 17, 2023
A new bid to give the Glebe Estate in Chiswick Conservation Area status is being launched.
A meeting of Hounslow Council’s cabinet this Tuesday (12 December) discussed the proposals and saw a report that said that an earlier attempt to change the planning status of the area early in 2021 failed due to ‘misinformation’. It was decided to proceed with the recommendation of the report to revive the proposals for Conservation Area status.
The Glebe Estate is an enclave of Victorian cottages located between Duke Road and Devonshire Road, Glebe Street and Fraser Street. Glebe Street, which is the main thoroughfare of the Glebe Estate, running north-south from Duke Road to Devonshire Road is lined with a mix of two- and three-story cottages, some of which date back to the 1860s. Fraser Street runs parallel to Glebe Street, connecting it to Duke Road, and has a similar assortment of period cottages.
The proposal agreed by the Cabinet is to have another consultation on the designation of Glebe Estate as Conservation Area as well as a draft Conservation Area Appraisal for Glebe Estate. If there are objections, a further report will be made to the Cabinet analysing the responses and recommending further action, otherwise a senior council officer will be empowered to make the change.
Hounslow Council is nearly at the end of a programme of preparing revised Conservation Area Appraisals for all its existing Conservation Areas in the borough with only Bedford Park left to complete due to the need to coordinate with Ealing Council. When this process is complete, it plans to revisit the earlier plans for the Glebe Estate.
A report by council officers to the cabinet states, “A consultation on the potential designation of the Glebe Estate as a Conservation Area took place in 2021. A misunderstanding regarding the proposed designation, its consequences and a campaign based on the misunderstanding resulted in a largely negative response.”
There were 154 responses to the earlier proposal as well as a number of petitions against it including one with 82 signatures. Council officers claim that a leaflet was distributed at the time by a campaign against Conservation Area status which contained a significant amount of misinformation. In the event the majority of responses were against the proposal and the attempt was abandoned.
The report goes on the say that since that time, further discussions have been undertaken with the residents’ association, councillors and others. An explanatory ‘factually correct’ leaflet is to be published by the council with current information about the proposals.
The Glebe Estate has been identified by the council as an area which is worthy of Conservation Area status for its important history as Chiswick’s first working class housing estate. This is reflected in its well preserved architecturally coherent terraces and wide roads, which are believed to be an early and significant expression of a Victorian working class estate.
A brief history of the Glebe Estate written by local historian Gillian Clegg has been published by the Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society.
Conservation Area designation means that the development within the area is more closely controlled and planning permission would be required for more changes to homes for instance the replacement of windows. Extensions, cladding, dormer windows, satellite dishes and solar panels are subject to additional restrictions and there would be tighter controls on advertising in the area. Trees within conservation areas with stem diameters of 75mm or greater, measured at 1.5m above ground are protected.
This means that any resident wishing to do work on their property may incur additional planning fees. On the other hand, it is argued that Conservation Area status serves to enhance locations and has a beneficial impact on property prices.
Every property within the proposed Conservation Area will receive a notification letter, also containing the ‘factually correct’ leaflet. In addition, Historic England, The 20th Century Society and The Victorian Society will also be consulted.
It is anticipated that the public consultation will take place in early 2024 with a final decision made later in the year.
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