Council to Push Through Glebe Estate Conservation Area
Says statutory duty overrides opposition from residents
The area has a high number of two storey Victorian terraced cottages. Picture: Google Streetview
August 28, 2024
Hounslow Council’s cabinet is to be asked to rubber-stamp a proposal to designate the Glebe Estate as a conservation area at its meeting next Tuesday (3 September).
This is despite a second consultation on the matter showing that the majority of people living in the area who responded to a survey were against the move.
Council officers say that despite this opposition, some of which they claim is based on disinformation, there is a statutory duty to press ahead with the conservation area to protect the unique character of the estate.
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.
A brief history of the Glebe Estate written by local historian Gillian Clegg has been published by the Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society.
The consultation that was held earlier this year delivered a similar proportion to the one held in 2021. 342 letters were sent to households with about a quarter responding. Even excluding those who did not give identifiable addresses within the estate and those responding to a Change.org petition, there was still a majority against the redesignation. The council report claims that a higher percentage than 25% was necessary for the results to be statistically valid.
The negative response came despite the council issuing further explanatory information and working with the residents’ association on an information leaflet.
Officers have given more weight to the views of Historic England, the Victorian Society, the 20th Century Society and Labour Heritage which all supported the conservation area.
Supporters argue that the Glebe Estate is worthy of conservation \rea status for its important history and design as Chiswick’s first working class housing estate. Without such a designation, it is felt there is a risk that the currently well-preserved estate is compromised through development occurring that does not require planning permission, including that arising from proposals for extra floors being able to be added without planning permission.
Once the conservation area is in place, planning permission will be required for the demolition of buildings and structures, any two storey extension, an extension that extends beyond the side wall of the building, dormer windows and roof extensions, cladding, the installation of a chimney or vent pipe and satellite dishes and solar panels facing the road. There will also be tighter controls on advertisements and all trees with a set diameter of above 75mm which are over 1.5m tall are protected and six weeks’ notice to the council is required before any work takes place on them.
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.
One of the objectors to the conservation area wrote in the consultation survey, “This idea is not well thought through. With global warming, maintaining historic features [a simple and superficial aesthetic quality] is unfeasible and does not allow for modifications which are necessary to protect residents from weather damage such as extreme heat and storms. The historic houses are not adequate for modern living in light of climate change. Moreover, these houses were not particularly well built in the first place and thus require modern adjustments to make them habitable. Protect residents not a historic and aesthetic notion of 'working class housing'."
Some residents are warning that a legal challenge may be made to any proposed conservation area.
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