Historic Environment Supplementary Planning Document - Consultation Draft (February 2026)
Introduction
3.1 Further planning guidance on each conservation area is available in the form of Conservation Area Character Appraisals. www.bolsover.gov.uk/conservation-areas
3.2 There are at present 28 conservation areas within the district (see Section 10.0). In some conservation areas, additional controls have been added in the form of Article 4 Directions to control development. These are within Whitwell, Bolsover, Creswell, Belph, Hardstoft, Hardwick and Rowthorne, the land west of Bolsover Castle and Creswell model village.
3.3 The appraisals identify the key buildings and features that contribute to their heritage significance.
3.4 Policy SC3 of the Bolsover District Local Plan (2020) as supported by the Successful Healthy Places SPD aims to deliver high quality places across the district as a whole and for development to respond positively to the context and contribute to local identity and heritage.
Conservation Areas and the Impact of Development
Settlement Pattern
3.5 Within the district of Bolsover there are a number of characteristic historic settlement patterns. Examples include the nucleated settlements, and the ribbon settlements that incorporate evidence of medieval strip-farming and a back lane.
3.6 Historic settlement patterns will need to be preserved in any schemes for redevelopment or new development.
Buildings
3.7 Buildings shape the townscape in several key ways. They establish the character and identity of a place through their architectural style, history and collective form. Their arrangement in street patterns, plot layouts, heights and proportions creates the rhythm and grain of a place, which new development should respect. Traditional materials and architectural details contribute strongly to local distinctiveness. Buildings also frame important views and vistas, so new proposals must preserve or enhance these visual qualities.
Archaeology
3.8 Archaeology is a key consideration in those conservation areas that were medieval settlements as there is significant potential for archaeological remains. These are discussed in detail under Archaeology and are addressed by policies SC18 and SC19 of The Local Plan for Bolsover District (2020). The local authority will assess the potential for archaeology in determining the approach to development on any site by consultation with the Development Control Archaeologist. Where there is significant potential that archaeology will be disturbed an evaluation may be required.
3.9 Spaces between buildings can be important to the character of the conservation area. These include village greens, areas of common land, rocky outcrops and green knolls, the garden setting of large historic houses, the agricultural setting of farmyards and churchyards. Large houses, with substantial gardens, are often part of the historic settlement pattern and part of the historic and architectural interest. Rectories, for example, often had large gardens, which reflected their historically high status within the village.
3.10 Open spaces within conservation areas are important to the setting of buildings and the character of the settlement. Policy SC16 of the Bolsover District Local Plan (2020) includes open spaces as a key characteristic of the character and appearance of conservation areas.
Design
3.11 The district council welcomes innovative modern design, where this pays particular respect to the architectural language of the locality and the context, whether this is an urban or rural setting.
3.12 The district council will normally require a Design and Access Statement where new development is proposed in a conservation area. This will need to identify the context, consider important views, the topography of the land, the pattern of existing development (including pedestrian routes and connections and the density of existing development), the scale of neighbouring buildings, and the local palette of materials. With all this taken on board, the Design and Access Statement should identify where it will add to the historic context in a positive way.
3.13 For detailed guidance about new design in a historic environment a good source is “Buildings in Context – New development in historic areas” CABE/ English Heritage 2001 and the guidance included in Design in the Historic Environment: Historic England Feb 2022.
Where new buildings are designed in a traditional form, certain details are required to be incorporated that reflect the distinctive character of the locality. Where these are not incorporated into a design, they will be added as conditions. These are:
- Traditionally detailed windows and doors
- Cast-metal rainwater goods
- Traditional flush eaves, without fascia boards
- Plain flush verges or raised coped gables, without barge-boards
- Coursed stonework, laid evenly coursed
- Stone lintels and cills
- Roofing materials of natural slate, red clay pantiles or red clay tiles
Principles of Assessment
In assessing the effect of a proposal on the special character or appearance of a Conservation Area, particular regard will be given to:
- the design of the proposed development, both in general form and in detailing;
- the proposed materials of construction and the extent to which they conform to the prevailing traditional building materials and styles of the conservation area;
- the scale of the proposed development; and
- the relationship of the proposed development with existing buildings;
- the impact of the proposed development on important open spaces within the conservation area;
- the impact of the proposed development on known or potential archaeological remains;
- the relationship of the proposed development to the historic street pattern;
- the impact of the proposed development on views into, out from and within the conservation area, including views of important buildings; and where appropriate
- the impact of new uses on the area’s special character or appearance
- the impact of the proposal on the historic landscape character Proposals for the demolition of historic buildings or structures that make a contribution to the historic character of conservation areas will be resisted.
