“In considering whether to grant planning permission … for development which affects a listed building or its setting, the local planning authority or, as the case may be, the Secretary of State shall have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses.”
“… The surroundings in which a heritage asset is experienced. Its extent is not fixed and may change as the asset and its surroundings evolve. Elements of a setting may make a positive or negative contribution to the significance of an asset, may affect the ability to appreciate that significance or may be neutral.”
“132. When considering the impact of a proposed development on the significance of a designated heritage asset, great weight should be given to the asset’s conservation. The more important the asset, the greater the weight should be. Significance can be harmed or lost through alteration or destruction of the heritage asset or development within its setting. As heritage assets are irreplaceable, any harm or loss should require clear and convincing justification. Substantial harm to or loss of a grade II listed building, park or garden should be exceptional. Substantial harm to or loss of designated heritage assets of the highest significance, notably scheduled monuments, protected wreck sites, battlefields, grade I and II* listed buildings, grade I and II* registered parks and gardens, and World Heritage Sites, should be wholly exceptional.”
“A thorough assessment of the impact on setting needs to take into account, and be proportionate to, the significance of the heritage asset under consideration and the degree to which proposed changes enhance or detract from that significance and the ability to appreciate it. Setting is the surroundings in which an asset is experienced, and may therefore be more extensive than its curtilage. All heritage assets have a setting, irrespective of the form in which they survive and whether they are designated or not. The extent and importance of setting is often expressed by reference to visual considerations. Although views of or from an asset will play an important part, the way in which we experience an asset in its setting is also influenced by other environmental factors such as noise, dust and vibration from other land uses in the vicinity, and by our understanding of the historic relationship between places. For example, buildings that are in close proximity but are not visible from each other may have a historic or aesthetic connection that amplifies the experience of the significance of each. The contribution that setting makes to the significance of the heritage asset does not depend on there being public rights or an ability to access or experience that setting. This will vary over time and according to circumstance. …”
“Many heritage assets have settings that have been designed to enhance their presence and visual interest or to create experiences of drama or surprise and these designed settings may also be regarded as heritage assets in their own right. Furthermore they may, themselves, have a wider setting: a park may form the immediate surroundings of a great house, while having its own setting that includes lines-of-sight to more distant heritage assets or natural features beyond the park boundary. Given that the designated area is often restricted to the ‘core’ elements, such as a formal park, it is important that the extended and remote elements of design are included in the evaluation of the setting of a designed landscape[.]”
“31. The definition of setting in the Framework is the “surroundings in which a heritage asset is experienced”
“32. The Council, Kedleston Voice and English Heritage (as it was then) argue that Kedleston Hall and its Park are an integral whole and that, accordingly, their settings are the same. It was also argued that the historical, social and economic connection – the appeal site being part of the estate of which the Hall and Park were the hub – brought the appeal site within the setting of the Hall. There has, though, to be more of a physical or visual connection than that, otherwise land completely remote from the Hall could be deemed within its setting. The appellant takes the view that the Park provides the setting for the Hall. That is not an unreasonable approach to take; for example, the Historic England guidance recognises that a conservation area will include the settings of listed buildings and will have a setting of its own. That said, there are two ways to look at the setting of Kedleston Hall. 33. The planting of the Derby Screen, around 1960, brought about a very significant change. Originally, there were views out from the Hall and Park towards Derby – and, for those approaching the Hall, there would have been a first view into the Park, with a glimpse of the Hall, across the appeal site from Kedleston Road. The Derby Screen was planted to obscure the view of Allestree, development having encroached over the horizon, and the night-time glare from the increasingly large built-up area of Derby. Its planting was a deliberate decision, based on the changing surroundings, to make the Park more enclosed and inward-looking; and the Derby Screen has since been significantly extended into the Park by the National Trust. Thus, today, the appeal site forms no part of the setting of Kedleston Hall. 34. If one takes a more historical approach, however, then there was an open view where the Derby Screen now is. Moreover, the evidence suggests it was a designed view – documentary, in the references to the vista including Derby; physical, in the ditch of a sunken fence, akin to a ha-ha, which would have kept stock out (or in) without obstructing the view. The appellant argued that the sunken fence may have been a ditch predating the laying out of the Park but that does not exclude the proposition of a designed view. 35. The view was, clearly, a wide vista. The spire of Derby Cathedral is referred to as being seen in the panorama, though it could only have been seen from relatively close to the boundary of the Park, not from the Hall. The particular view to or from Kedleston Road is only a very small segment and is, from the Hall, at its very eastern extremity. There is no evidence that the view from Kedleston Road towards the Hall and Park was also part of the design; nor is it logical to draw the inference that the view towards the Hall and Park was designed simply because the view in the other direction was. 36. However, if one holds the opinion that the view both to and from Kedleston Road was a deliberate part of the design of the Park and that the Derby Screen, or part of it, could be opened out to restore that view, then the appeal site does indeed fall within the setting of Kedleston Hall.”
“37. The Registered Park and the Conservation Area are coterminous and the designations have similar purposes in mind. The Hall and its Park were at the centre of a large estate, socially and economically, though not geographically (there was estate land in Staffordshire). The agricultural land around the Park certainly forms part of its setting in historical and cultural terms. In visual terms, what comes within the setting is less extensive. There were, and still are, places within the Park where the surrounding agricultural landscape contributes to views out; and there are places outside the Park which afford views in, not only of the Park but also, sometimes, of the Hall. 38. The appeal site may be considered to lie within the setting of the Park because of its relative proximity. There are clear views of the boundary of the Park, though it is debatable whether its trees and woodland, designed and laid out in a naturalistic manner, can actually be distinguished as such by anyone unfamiliar with designed parkland. The only views into the Park from or across the appeal site, or out from the Park towards it, have been obscured by the planting of the Derby Screen.”
“39. Kedleston Hotel stands on the site of an earlier inn but what is seen today dates from the same period as the Hall and Park and was built to cater for visitors to the Park and its Sulphur Bath. There is thus a close historic relationship between the Hotel and the Hall and Park. The appeal site lies within the setting of the Hotel in as much as it can be seen from the Hotel looking south – but the focus of views from the Hotel, in so far as there are any, is to the west and north-west, towards the Hall and Park. The Hotel is not visible, or certainly not noticeable, from the appeal site or Kedleston Road alongside it. There are views in which the Hotel and Hall can both be seen, for example from Common Hill, just west of Quarndon; from there, though, the appeal site lies in a wholly different direction, by about 90°.” and on the setting of the Quarndon Conservation Area, this (in paragraph 40): “40. Quarndon Conservation Area is drawn tightly round the historic core of the village. It has relatively recent development virtually all around it. There is a significant amount of that to the south of the Conservation Area, in the direction of the appeal site. Because of this, it is debatable that the appeal site actually lies within the setting of the Conservation Area. It may be thought to do so, however, to the extent that it may be seen in winter views (when the trees are bare).”
“41. There is no doubting that Kedleston Hall, a grade I listed building, is a heritage asset of the very greatest importance. Statute requires special regard to be had to the desirability of preserving not only the building but also its setting. Any harm to the significance of the Hall must be given very great weight when considering development proposals within its setting. 42. The Derby Screen is key to any impact on the significance of Kedleston Hall. At the present time, the existence of the Screen means that the proposed development would have no impact whatsoever on the setting of the Hall. The questions to be addressed, therefore, are about the prospect of the Screen being removed or opened up and, if it were, the resultant impact of the proposed development on the significance of the Hall. 43. It is not absolutely clear that the view across the appeal site between Kedleston Road and the Hall and Park was designed. … 44. There is no debate that the Screen was planted to obscure views of Allestree and the night-time glare from the lighting of the expanding urban area of Derby. Its planting was a deliberate response to changing circumstances. It may be seen as part of the evolution of the Park. Moreover, for whatever reason, the depth of the Screen has been substantially increased by the National Trust so that it is now some 40m or more wide. To remove it now, or to open it up in some way, raises a number of issues, as well as being a substantial and costly task.”
“49. It seemed, until late in the inquiry, that no consideration had ever been given to the removal of the Derby Screen, or to opening it up so that the Park and landscape beyond are inter-visible. The National Trust then wrote to the Council, attaching an extract from a conservation plan that had not hitherto been known to exist. However, while the letter mentions glimpses of the dome of the Hall from Kedleston Road, the extract talks only about views from the south-eastern corner of the Park and about managing and thinning the Derby Screen “to create more open woodland with permeable edges to the parkland” – not the removal of part or all of the Derby Screen and not significantly different to what is in the 2013 Conservation Plan. 50. Thus, it is unclear that the view from Kedleston Road was a designed view, intended to give a glimpse of the Hall; it is known that the Derby Screen was planted as a response to changing circumstances; there is no firm intention to consider removal [of] the Derby Screen; even if there were, there are a number of attendant issues that would have to be resolved; such indications as there are relate only to views from the south-eastern corner of the Park and to thinning the Screen. There is nothing to suggest that a view from Kedleston Road giving a glimpse of the Hall might at some time be restored. 51. On that basis, it is entirely reasonable to conclude that the appeal site does not lie within the setting of Kedleston Hall and that section 66(1) of [the Listed Buildings Act] and policy in the Framework do not come into play.”
“52. If the issues considered above were to be resolved in favour of removing all or part of the Derby Screen to restore a view to and from Kedleston Road, a question then arises as to what would be the impact of the proposed developments. The view from Kedleston Road would be lost. It could never be more than a glimpse across open countryside, rather than a designed view through parkland, but at least it might indicate that one was nearing the Hall and Park. The view from the Hall would be little changed. The cross-section provided by Dr Hickie [one of the council’s witnesses] in his evidence suggests that the land itself would be all but invisible from the Hall, though houses upon it would be seen to bring the boundary of the urban area closer to the Park. All that would represent less than substantial harm – sufficiently little, in fact, that the effect on the significance of the Hall, standing within its designed Park, would be negligible.” “52. If the issues considered above were to be resolved in favour of removing all or part of the Derby Screen to restore a view to and from Kedleston Road, a question then arises as to what would be the impact of the proposed developments. The view from Kedleston Road would be lost. It could never be more than a glimpse across open countryside, rather than a designed view through parkland, but at least it might indicate that one was nearing the Hall and Park. The view from the Hall would be little changed. The cross-section provided by Dr Hickie [one of the council’s witnesses] in his evidence suggests that the land itself would be all but invisible from the Hall, though houses upon it would be seen to bring the boundary of the urban area closer to the Park. All that would represent less than substantial harm – sufficiently little, in fact, that the effect on the significance of the Hall, standing within its designed Park, would be negligible.”
“53. There is no dispute that the Park, registered in grade I, is, like the Hall, a heritage asset of the very highest importance. There is also no dispute that the appeal site lies within the setting of the Park and the Conservation Area; and that the harm caused to the significance of both would be less than substantial. The term ‘less than substantial’ does, however, cover a wide range of harm – and the question is just how great that harm would be. 54. There are two aspects to the impact on the setting of the Park – visual and historical. The Park was carefully designed and laid out in a naturalistic manner. There are (or were) designed views into the Park, with glimpses of the Hall, most notably (in the context of these appeals) from Kedleston Road between the Hotel and the Park entrances. The farmland surrounding the Park was historically part of the estate – and still is in that, while ownership may have changed, the estate is still managed from the Hall. The farmland acts as a visual setting for the Park; and that is more important than might be thought at first blush – because the Park was designed naturalistically, not in a more formal style which may not have had, or needed, a measure of continuity with its surroundings. 55. The appeal site is part of that setting. So too is the built-up area of Allestree, which stands on land formerly part of the estate. And, of course, the Derby Screen was planted around 1960 because of the incursion of Allestree (and night-time glare from Derby) into the previously rural views from the Park. Much of what is said above about the Derby Screen applies equally to the Park. There would, however, have been views south-eastwards from within the Park, whether intentionally designed or not, from the Backgrounds and from the Long Walk. In historical terms, that brings the appeal site more firmly within the setting of the Park than if there had never been any inter-visibility. … 58. To sum up, there would be harm to the setting of the Park from development within it – but that would be mitigated to a degree by the extent of the existing built-up area, the existing vegetation and the remaining open land between the Park and the built-up area. That also applies to views out from the Park if the Derby Screen were removed or opened out; views towards the Park would, though, be less extensive and more oblique than possible at present. In terms of the significance of the Park and Conservation Area, though, the harm would be at the lower end of ‘less than substantial’.”
“60. In my view, the Inspector’s findings … clearly indicate that [his] focus was upon identifying a visual connection, and assessing the proposal’s impact upon it. The historic social and economic connections were set to one side in this exercise. I therefore cannot accept the Secretary of State’s submission that the Inspector merely formed a planning judgment that the historic social and economic factors were of insufficient weight, as there was no assessment of the weight to be accorded to them in the Inspector’s decision-making process.”
“64. In my judgment, although the Inspector set out the NPPF definition of setting … , he adopted a narrow interpretation of setting which was inconsistent with the broad meaning given to setting in the relevant policies and guidance which were before him … . Whilst a physical or visual connection between a heritage asset and its setting will often exist, it is not essential or determinative. The term setting is not defined in purely visual terms in the NPPF which refers to the “surroundings in which a heritage asset is experienced”
“otherwise”, he said, “land completely remote from the Hall could be deemed within its setting”
“that the Park provides the setting for the Hall” – in his view, “not an unreasonable approach to take”