ROLE AND FUNCTIONS

The purpose of the KCAAC (referred to hereafter as “the CAAC”) is to act as an advisory and consultative body on matters relating to the built environment in the following conservation areas:

The specific functions of the CAAC are as follows:

  1. to assist and guide Hackney Council, the local planning authority, in the preparation of policy statements related to the conservation areas as well as general planning policies, including land use and transport, the implementation of these statements and policies, and the preparation of briefs for significant sites affecting these areas.
  2. to consider and advise upon all planning applications which are likely to affect the conservation areas (including the listed buildings they contain) or their settings, and to bring breaches of planning control to the attention of the Council.
  3. to advise on the variation of existing conservation area boundaries or the designation of new conservation areas.
  4. to identify buildings or features, which should be considered for listing and other buildings or features of local urban, historic, architectural or archaeological interest, including trees, which the CAAC feel should be protected.
  5. to initiate proposals for the preservation and enhancement of the conservation areas, their listed buildings, open spaces and highways.
  6. to assist in furthering the education, involvement and support of the general public in conservation issues.
  7. to provide written representations on decisions concerning applications, which have resulted in planning appeals and providing evidence at public inquiries.

MEMBERSHIP

  1. The CAAC will have no less than 6 and no more than 15 members in order to ensure that it can work effectively.
  2. Membership of the CAAC will be drawn from the following areas:
    1. Local community and residents’ groups, including religious, leisure and youth groups.
    2. Local business and commercial concerns.
    3. The principal amenity groups: the RIBA; The Victorian Society; the Georgian Group; The Hackney Society; the RTPI, the Twentieth Century Society, etc.
    4. At the discretion of the CAAC, other persons with specialist knowledge or expertise.

OPERATIONS

  1. The CAAC shall elect a Chair, a Vice Chair and a Secretary to serve for a minimum period of a year.
  2. A quorum of three members of the CAAC shall be required for the Committee to meet.
  3. The CAAC will meet regularly and as frequently as is necessary for the effective conduct of its duties.
  4. In order to ensure effective operation, CAAC meetings shall not be open to the public, except at its discretion.
  5. The CAAC may invite to meetings architects and other parties involved in proposed developments, in order to explain proposals or so that the CAAC might comment on proposals before applications are made, if appropriate.
  6. All comments and opinions of the CAAC must be agreed prior to issue by the CAAC, and all members of the CAAC must agree to abide by the decision of the majority of the members of the CAAC. The Chair shall have the casting vote where agreement cannot be reached.
  7. The Chair and other Officers of the CAAC shall have the authority to deal with urgent matters on behalf of the CAAC, reporting their actions to the earliest available meeting when their action will be recorded in the minutes. Where the Chair’s authority has been exercised, this shall be stated in any correspondence or reports concerning the relevant matter.
  8. "Agreement" or "discretion" of the CAAC shall mean an agreement of the majority of a quorate meeting of the CAAC, or the agreement of the Chair, Vice Chair or Secretary regarding urgent matters. Matters will be deemed to be "urgent" where a decision is required by either the Council or the CAAC before the next meeting of the CAAC, e.g. to meet a deadline for a report to a Council Committee.
  9. Members of the CAAC shall not be remunerated for their participation in the activities of the CAAC.
  10. In order to ensure fairness and openness in the operation of the CAAC, members shall declare in writing any interests (financial or otherwise) that they may have in property and development in the geographical area covered by the CAAC. If an issue comes before the Committee for consideration in which a member has such an interest, they will declare that interest, and take no part in the consideration or decision of the Committee regarding that matter.
  11. In order to ensure financial propriety, the CAAC will not be involved with the detailed operation of any grant or benefit schemes (including those established under Conservation Area Partnerships) that may operate in the conservation areas insofar as they relate to specific properties in private ownership and the nature and amount of grant packages that may be offered under the grant scheme. These matters shall remain exclusively the subject of the discretion of officers of the Council. The CAAC may comment and make recommendations on the principles and priorities of any grant scheme.
  12. In order to ensure clarity, certainty and efficiency of operation, the CAAC and the Council shall have a formal written Service Level Agreement (as stated in the following Appendix).

APPENDIX: SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT

  1. Service provided by the Council to the KCAAC
    1. The Council and its officers will generally ensure that notice of consultation is dispatched in writing together with relevant accompanying plans and other information on all planning applications in conservation areas or such others that would affect their setting. Such information relating to planning applications or any other matter that the CAAC may consider under the terms of its constitution, shall be adequate to enable the CAAC to assess fully the impact and acceptability of the proposals upon which the opinion of the CAAC is sought.
    2. The Council will specifically provide the following:
      1. A copy of the regular list of planning applications, posted to the nominated officer of the CAAC. (It is the CAAC’s responsibility to ensure that the Council has an up to date contact.)
      2. A copy of the application and the drawings/specifications for each scheme that the CAAC may wish to comment on, for discussion at meetings of the CAAC. The case files will be made available for inspection in their entirety at the offices of the Development Control Service Unit of the Regulatory Services Directorate of Hackney Council.
      3. Details of the relevant case officer dealing with each application, who may be contacted for further information.
      4. Discrete summaries within officers’ reports, of the CAAC’s comments on each application, and timely responses to other matters raised with officers under the terms of the constitution.
      5. Notification to the Chair or nominee, by means of a copy of the relevant Committee agenda, of the date of any Council Committee where a comment has been made by the CAAC on a particular agenda item.
      6. Re-notification to the CAAC of significant revisions together with consultation on the final revisions of each application, prior to the application being determined or reported to the Planning (i.e. Development Control) Sub-Committee, or its successor.
      7. Notification to the Chair or nominee, by means of copies of the relevant Committee agenda and of the final decision notice, of the decision taken and any conditions, in order to aid monitoring.
      8. Notification in writing, by means of the regular list of applications, of any appeals lodged and subsequent information concerning timetables, etc.
      9. The typing, photocopying and posting of minutes and other CAAC documents.
  2. Service provided by the KCAAC to the Council
    1. The CAAC will generally undertake to consider and comment upon the subjects outlined in its constitution, confining itself to discussion of only matters relevant to these subjects, and informing the Council of its conclusions.
    2. The CAAC will specifically ensure the following:
      1. To perform its functions in accordance with its constitution.
      2. That membership of the CAAC shall be as representative as possible and contain members with expertise in matters relating to the built environment.
      3. That members of the CAAC shall promptly elect the officers of the CAAC as required by the constitution.
      4. That observations on applications will be made in writing to the named case officer within the period established by the case officer on providing application drawings and details to the CAAC, in order to ensure that comments of the CAAC can be included in officers' reports and in order to meet Committee deadlines. These comments may be in the form of a letter, a minute of a meeting or on individual case comment sheets prepared for the purpose, and may be emailed. The CAAC shall recognise that officers need its prompt response at an early stage in their discussions with applicants.
      5. That any other comments and opinions of the CAAC shall be provided in writing to the Council promptly and concisely.
      6. That each CAAC will meet regularly and as frequently as is necessary for the effective conduct of its duties.