New development within conservation areas, and in their settings, calls for a clear understanding of what contributes to an area's special interest and how proposals can preserve or enhance its character and appearance. This experience includes a range of projects assessed against Historic England guidance and the relevant Conservation Area Appraisals, both within designated boundaries and in the wider settings that contribute to them.

Relevant projects include a proposed 70-bed care home in Surrey, where the assessment of effects on the local conservation area was tested against the Conservation Area Appraisal and settled on a reasoned finding of less than substantial harm at the lowest end of the spectrum. A 167-home brownfield regeneration scheme in south-east London considered the setting of the surrounding conservation area, together with an adjacent Grade II listed former bakehouse, informing the emerging design at Design Review Panel stage. A further instruction in Hertfordshire involved a full significance assessment of the conservation area in support of proposals affecting a Grade II* listed building within it.

Further experience includes a residential development scheme in Cambridgeshire assessed for its effects on the setting of a conservation area, and a number of residential schemes within and adjacent to conservation areas across Nottinghamshire. Across these projects the work has distinguished genuine effects on character and appearance from assumed harm, providing evidence-led conclusions that are proportionate and that stand up to scrutiny.