ABOUT

OUR STORY

Conservation Areas Wirral is dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of all of Wirral’s 26 Conservation Areas. A general meeting in April 2014, concerned about the problems facing conservation in Wirral, authorised the establishment of a group to liaise with the Council to raise the profile of Wirral conservation and to provide a conduit between the Conservation Area committees and the planning department.

Our job is to ensure that the legacy of Wirral’s past is conserved for Wirral’s future – we strongly believe that the safeguarding of Wirral’s Conservation Areas is fundamental to this aim.

We consider that Wirral’s rich history and heritage, as defined by its Conservation Areas, enhances the enjoyment of visitors and adds a new and valuable dimension to the attractions of this stunning peninsula. To find out if you live in a Conservation area click on the following link:
Conservation address search

CONSERVATION AREA HERITAGE TRAIL

If you would like to find out more about our lovely Conservation Areas, CAW officers have worked with Wirral Council’s Rights of Way officer, Robin Tutchings, to devise a trail around each area.  You can download these from https://www.wirral.gov.uk/planning-and-building/built-conservation/wirral-conservation-area-and-heritage-trail

The Trail will introduce you to the Conservation Area as well as pointing out particular heritage assets to view and the trails can be used by walkers, cyclists or drivers.

To find out our aims please see our Constitution below.

CLICK TO VIEW OUR CONSTITUTION

WHAT WE DO

Each one of Wirral 26 Conservation Areas is automatically a member of the Conservation Areas Wirral (CAW) Forum. At the Annual General Meeting a committee is elected to pursue the organisation’s aims and this, in turn, elects its own officers. The committee meets monthly to hear reports about problems and concerns and then decides its priorities in dealing with them.

We understand the current constraints under which the Council’s planning department is operating and we shall do our best to assist with anything that applies to conservation. Our philosophy is co-operation, not confrontation. We meet regularly with the Council’s Head of Regeneration and with Historic England where concerns are aired, priorities discussed and plans implemented.

Forum members are kept in touch by a system of ‘Forum Friends’ whereby each member of the CAW committee is responsible for keeping in close contact with three or more of the Conservation Committees in Wirral. Regular newsletters are produced and urgent information is transmitted by email.

We work with all of Wirral’s Conservation Advisory Committees and with Wirral Council to promote, defend and safeguard these unique areas that contribute so much to the character and charm of the Wirral Peninsula.

OUR MEMBERS

The Conservation Areas Wirral committee comprises 10 members with a broad range of interests and areas of expertise. The 10 include the Secretary, Gillian Bolt, who is co-opted.

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    Alan Chape

    Chairman, Conservation Areas Wirral

    Retired: (Formerly Deputy Chief Executive Liverpool City Council and currently visiting Fellow to Heseltine Institute, University of Liverpool), Lives in Oxton Village, Interests: history & heritage of Wirral, Liverpool FC, photography, graphic design, urban regeneration, long distance walking, music (lead singer Orange Zebra band)

    Secretary: The Oxton Society

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    David Allan

    Vice Chairman

    Retired: (Formerly company director), Lives in Eastham Village

    Interests: local history, railway preservation, history & heritage of Wirral, opera, ballet, rugby, cricket and growing sweet peas

    Secretary: Eastham Village Preservation Association, Chairman: Eastham Archive Group

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    Elizabeth Davey

    Committee member
    Conservation Areas Wirral

    Author of local history books and Retired Lecturer.

    Lives in Meols

    Interests: The history and heritage of the Wirral Peninsula, Hamilton Square, Birkenhead.

    Chairman: Wirral History & Heritage Association, Wirral Society committee member.

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    Peter Bolt

    Committee member
    Conservation Areas Wirral

    Retired: (Formerly Sales Engineer)

    Lives in Saughall Massie Village

    Interests: Local History, Victorian Railway Engineering, guitar playing, Inland Waterways Association Member

    Heritage Officer: Saughall Massie Village Conservation Area Society

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    Kay Crook

    Committee member
    Conservation Areas Wirral

    Retired: (Formerly School Teacher)

    Lives in Mountwood

    Interests: Labrador dogs, keeping Mountwood special, gardening and Abersoch.

    Chairman: Mountwood Conservation Area Advisory Committee

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    John Pyke

    Committee member
    Conservation Areas Wirral

    Retired: (formerly company director)

    Lives in Heswall, Interests: local environment, music, opera, rugby, cricket, skiing and scuba-diving

    Ex Chairman and current committee member: The Heswall Society

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  • Gillian Bolt

    Secretary
    Conservation Areas Wirral

    Retired: (Formerly Teacher), Lives in Saughall Massie

    Interests: Travelling, local history, watercolour painting, steam railways

    Secretary of the Saughall Massie Village CA committee

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  • Graham Arnold
    Graham Arnold

    Committee member – co-opted
    Conservation Areas Wirral

    Retired: Former Town Planner and Conservation Officer for Wirral MBC 1999 – 2009. Interests include travelling by rail to London and European towns and cities, visiting art galleries and museums, reading history and gardening. Currently he assists with practical landscape maintenance in Birkenhead Park and is the former Chair and Secretary of the North West Branch of the Institute of Historic Building and Conservation.

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    Hugh Batterbury

    Committee member – co-opted
    Conservation Areas Wirral

    Current Chair, Wellington Road Conservation Area Advisory Committee. One of the founding members in 1972, Hugh has served on the committee in various roles during that time. He has spent a career equally split between commerce, industry and public service but is now retired. He is a huge fan of Formula 1 racing.

 

CONSERVATION AREAS FRIENDS

  • Alan Chape
    Birkenhead Park (Friends of) • Oxton Society •
  • David Allan
    Bromborough Village Conservation Area • Bromborough Pool Residents Association / Society Eastham Village Preservation Association • Friends of Flaybrick
  • Hugh Batterbury, Wellington Road Conservation Area
  • Elizabeth Davey
    Hamilton Square Conservation Area •
  • Chris Moore
    Meols Drive Conservation Area • Kings Gap Conservation Area •
  • Peter Bolt
    Bidston Village Conservation Area • Caldy Society • Clifton Park Conservation Area • Saughall Massie Conservation Area • Flaybrick Steering Group •
  • Gillian Bolt
    Saughall Massie Village Conservation Area • Lower Bebington
  • Kay Crook
    Mountwood Society • Thornton Hough Conservation Area • West Kirby Village Conservation Area
  • John Pyke
    Frankby Conservation Area Consultative Committee • The Heswall Society (includes Gayton & Lower Heswall) • Thurstaston Conservation Area (Irby, Thurstaston & Pensby Amenity Society – ITPAS) CLI
  • Catherine Downey, Port Sunlight Trust

CONSERVATION AREAS

Every Conservation Area has its own distinctive character, derived from its landscape, historic development, use, buildings, materials and features. The individual buildings, street furniture, open spaces, trees and gardens will contribute to create the particular character of the area. Individual character appraisals and management plans can viewed on the Wirral Council’s website under the following link:

https://www.wirral.gov.uk/planning-and-building/built-conservation/conservation-areas

PLEASE CLICK ON AN AREA ABOVE