Nation's Favourite Conservation Area

Civic Societies, conservation groups and local councils are urged to nominate their favourite conservation area to find England’s favourite conservation area.

Announcing the launch of the 2023 award, Griff Rhys Jones said: "We have over 10,000 conservation areas in England which reflect the rich built heritage of the nation. England’s Favourite Conservation Area is a way of recognising the benefits conservation areas bring to making our towns unique and special. I look forward to seeing what comes forward. After Swindon Railway Village won in 2018 with 3,000+ votes from the local community, we hope this competition encourages other areas to use the award to raise the profile of their local area. The classification of a conservation area is based more on the area's general character and appearance than on any particular structure, which gives the area a sense of community pride. It is this pride in the place that means that a conservation area protection, upkeep, or enhancement of its beauty and enjoyment are shared responsibilities for us all."

The applications for the award will open on the 22nd of October, and you have until the end of the year to apply. The winner will be announced at an event in Parliament on 17th April 2023. The event in Parliament will be invitation-only and feature Laura Sandys, Vice-president of Civic Voice. We particularly want to see historic high conservation areas nominated for England's Favourite Conservation Area.

The shortlist will be compiled by a special panel of judges, chaired by Laura Sandys and representatives from the heritage and conservation sector.

How to apply for England's favourite conservation area

Before completing your submission, have you reviewed the Guidance Notes, which include the rules of entry and top tips for a good submission?

Please note that you cannot save the form and return to it later, so we advise you to download the word version of the application form and copy and paste your answers into the online form when it will be available from September 2nd 2019.

BCC Application form

Woodford Conservation Area in Northamptonshire
Nominated by:
Robert Lloyd Sweet, Robert

Woodford in Northamptonshire stands out to me for the way its history speaks through its buildings and spaces. In 2008 I was asked to look at the village to consider if it should become a conservation area. I did my research and spent time walking around the area but also met the parish council who told me about their pride in the village and concerns for its future.

I found it was (archaeologically) really three villages, each telling a different part of the history of this part of Northamptonshire. At the bottom of the hill, a medieval village had been built along an ancient route beside the River Nene, with narrow lanes running up the hillside between the medieval strip fields (most now colonised by later cottages and houses). As many as four small manor houses stand along the street, as well as stone and thatch cottages and the medieval church. In the 16th century a wealthy landowner blocked the main street to build a large house and gardens on the banks of the river. A new main road along the hilltop created a new focus of settlement from the 17th century around a village green with inns, farmhouses and rows of substantial stone-built cottages with a strong architectural character and sense of enclosure. you could tell this had been a time of prosperity in the village based on its rich agricultural hinterland. Development of local industries in the 19th century led to further growth, this time with a small industrial settlement on a grid of streets, including a garment factory, non-conformist chapels, pubs and rows of artisan cottages in both brick and stone to the north of the village green. Set in the back yards of several cottages were boot-makers' workshops (a particularly distinctive feature of Northamptonshire villages). The transition from bucolic medieval village to an industrialised 19th century countryside couldn't be better illustrated and it was fascinating to see these different ages of development each so distinct and clearly set out but next to each other in the setting of the green Northamptonshire countryside.

I'm glad to say the Council did accept my recommendation to designate the conservation area. Sadly, as is so often the case in consultancy, I moved on to the next job and the next and haven’t been back to Woodford since 2009. Perhaps 2018 will be the year for a 10 year review.

Spencer Square Conservation Area
Nominated by:
Laura Sandys, Civic Voice Vice-president

Some of my very happiest times was spent living at the heart of the Spencer Square Conservation Area – at the heart of one of the prettiest towns in the UK, Ramsgate, that is shaped by the sea and can boast some of the most delightful regency buildings. Strange that such a cohesive community of neighbours, lovely architecture and improving open spaces were all designed around war having been built for General Spencer’s solders in the heat of the Napoleonic wars. The houses come in varying sizes and grandeur depending on what rank you had, while the square is arranged around a central parade ground. Now neighbours have worked very hard to transform the “parade” ground with gardens. The perfectly formed homes, special neighbours and also glimses of the sea made for the perfect conservation area – with history at its heart it if the people who have actively protected and enhanced their wonderful square and the lovely surroundings. Congratulations to Spencer Square and its people. It really is my favourite conservation area.

Russell Street/Castle Hill conservation area
Nominated by:
Cllr. Karen Rowland
Abbey Ward- Reading & joint author of Civic Voice's "Future of our Conservation Areas"

My favourite conservation area has to be the Russell Street/Castle Hill conservation area in Reading. It was my "first" conservation area when I moved to Reading six years ago from Sweden and I still live happily in it today, despite some of its "problems."

I love it best not because of its imperfections, but because of its still intact potential to enhance it for the future. I also love it for what it has taught me and how it has inspired me by learning how conservation areas can endure for those who love them, consider them important and - refuse to give up on them.

There's plenty of reason for the Russell Street/ Castle Hill conservation area to be proud. It is a classic "inner city" residential suburb: a microcosm collection of streets spanning residential housing examples from the Georgian period to the Edwardian period in Reading. Come explore our streets and the observer can easily come to understand the progression of Reading's residential housing development over the past 250 years street by street, in a rather small compact area.

I also love this conservation area for what it did "for me." It inspired me to become involved in local politics and to go back to school and pursue a second career in protecting heritage, something I love doing and am passionate about.

Because of that, I owe this conservation area back what skills I can bring to the table to help to improve it for future generations. It gives me a smile everyday when I see people that care working for its enhancement in the hopes that future generations will appreciate it even more than we love our little "rough jewel" that it is today.

Stanley Park Conservation Area
Nominated by:
Joan Humble, Chair, Civic Voice

The best thing about Stanley Park Conservation Area is that it is centred on Stanley Park itself. The
park is Grade II* listed and was designed by Thomas Mawson. The streets around the park contain
intact and well-preserved examples of high quality interwar housing, all laid out to a street plan
specified by Mawson. Friends meet in the park, families come in large numbers, children and adults
play sports, crowds listen to the music on the band stand and others enjoy the quiet of the gardens.
Public support for the park is very strong and there is large and very active Friends group who
organise much of the entertainment, pick the litter and tidy the flower beds. They put on an event in
2017 to celebrate the Park’s 90 th birthday year (they decided not to hold the event in October 2016,
the actual birthday, but to wait until the following spring when the sun shone!). Lord Derby came
and re-enacted his grandfather’s original opening of the gate. The Chair of the Friends even
persuaded me to dress in an (almost) 1920s outfit!? The Park won the Fields in Trust “Field Day”
2017 for this celebration and the “Best Park” in the UK 2017.

The conservation area also includes the Model Village, Blackpool Cricket Club, the Zoo, Stanley Park
golf course and the Grade II* listed Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes. Lots of places to visit.
The Stanley Park Conservation Area represents all that is good in town planning in the interwar
years, linking recreation and open space with quality residential development. It is a fascinating part
of Blackpool that continues to offer so much to residents and visitors alike.

I nominate Stanley Park Conservation Area as England's Favourite Conservation Area!

Jewellery Quarter Conservation Area

Nominated by: Gavin Orton, Chair, Birmingham Civic Society

For the last 15 years I’ve worked in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter Conservation Area where our practice is based. I also lived in the Quarter for a short time last year which gave me a whole new understanding of the area. I not only saw the hustle and bustle of the working week but also the quiet, gentle pace of the weekends, when the quarter’s residents took to the squares, streets and canals.

The Jewellery Quarter is a living, breathing, thriving, working conservation area that brings together the people of the city of all backgrounds, doing all sorts of things. Crucially there are also jewellers here - designing, making and trading - how can you have a Jewellery Quarter without jewellers?

The variety of people and trades is reflected in the different character areas of the quarter. From the workshops of the ‘industrial middle’ to the bars, restaurants surrounding Birmingham’s only remaining Georgian square, the canals to the two cemeteries where both the rich and famous and everyday Brummies are remembered alongside one another.

It’s by no means perfect but therein lies it’s charm and beauty. The challenge is making sure that the uniqueness and special character of the conservation area is not lost through regeneration and gentrification but embraced and celebrated - it’s a balance!