The Society was set up in March 2008 to help protect Winchelsea’s special character and appearance, including its built, natural and archaeological heritage, its public realm (the spaces between private property), and its historic landscape setting.

Although Winchelsea is within a Conservation Area and is part of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), it does not receive automatic protection from inappropriate development. Planning and conservation officials cannot keep an eye on the whole district and rely on the public to report conservation concerns. Conservation rules also have to be interpreted and are not always applied properly.

The Winchelsea Conservation Society aims to ensure that the objective of conserving Winchelsea's special character and appearance is always applied, that the views of the community are taken into account in the interpretation of conservation rules, and that the planning and conservation authorities do their job properly.

Conservation does not mean preserving the town “in aspic” and the Conservation Society is not dogmatically “anti-development”. There are many buildings in the town that could do with improvement, and there is a need to convert some properties to make them suitable for young families and small businesses, in order to keep Winchelsea alive. Development will be opposed only if it threatens to destroy a feature of the town or surrounding countryside, that has historic, architectural, ecological or social value; or if the proposal is of inappropriate design or poor quality.

A permanent body like the Society is needed in order to overcome the difficulty of fighting inappropriate development plans on an ad hoc and reactive basis. The Society aims to accumulate experience and knowledge of the planning system in advance of particular issues arising, so that it can make a rapid and informed response.

The influence of the Society on planning decisions depends, not only on the soundness of its arguments, but also on the breadth of its support in Winchelsea. The Society has therefore been established as a properly-constituted, open and democratic organisation with the positive aim of forging and informing a consensus in the community on what is and is not appropriate development. Its activities include the collection and dissemination to residents of expert advice on best conservation practice in order to encourage good design and use of local materials in new developments, so that planning disputes do not arise in the first place.

Home | Planning issue | Planning applications