Perry Vale and the Christmas Estate conservation area

Designated in January 2019, the area consists mainly of 20th century Edwardian suburban residential development. It was designed and built by local developer, Ted Christmas (E.C Christmas, 1897–1936) and is the largest and most coherent group of buildings in the borough.

Ted Christmas was a joiner by training. His houses are notable for their high-quality craftsmanship and detailing. In particular, the decorative external joinery make them stand out as exquisite examples of their time. The buildings include his personal trademark elements and are locally distinctive because they are an unusual and historic signature of a person of interest to the borough. The area is in a generally good state of preservation with high levels of survival of original elements.

The area includes former institutional buildings, which date to the early to mid-19thcentury, and are key landmarkers in the area in which the rest of the 20th century development was built around.

The area is considered to be of significant local, historic and architectural interest and successfully meets the requirements for designation.

We have produced a conservation area appraisal for its designation. It sets out the key characteristics of what makes the area special. , which we seek to preserve and enhance, and explains why the area is considered worthy of protection.

Article 4 Direction 

We have made a non-immediate Article 4 Direction to the area to encourage the retention of high-quality architectural features and to ensure that any changes are carried out sympathetically. The Article 4 Direction will come into place on 24 April 2020.

It is important to note that although an Article 4 Direction is not currently in place, the area is now a designated conservation area and is considered as ‘Article 2(3) land’. This means some restrictions to permitted development are in place. If you would like to find out how this could affect you, please contact the Planning department.