Aylesbury Vale Area Design Supplementary Planning Document

Introduction: Building conversions

There are many buildings in Aylesbury Vale both within settlements and in the countryside that are no longer used or are vacant. These buildings include farm buildings, chapels, schools, factories and offices. The re-use of existing buildings preserves their contribution to settlements and the countryside and is also more sustainable. The embodied energy in a buildings fabric is considerable i.e. it takes a lot of energy to demolish and rebuild existing buildings.

With this in mind the council seeks to encourage the re-use of buildings wherever possible particularly when the building makes a positive contribution to the character of an area. Their conversion and re-use however must be done with great care in order to ensure that the essential character of the original building is not lost or that the contribution the building makes to the wider area is not compromised.

This chapter examines the design approaches that should be adopted when converting a range of existing building types. It should be noted that conversion to residential use is not always the most appropriate solution, particularly where the building is listed or is situated in an isolated location in the open countryside.