Old York Road Conservation Area Declared


Includes station news kiosk and much of the Tonsleys


Image showing the news kiosk: Google Streetview

October 3, 2019

Large portions of the Tonsleys and Masumin's Kiosk at the entrance of Wandsworth Town station have been made into a conservation area.

Following a public consultation, Wandsworth council’s planning committee has now agreed that a designated area around the station would fit the conservation area criteria of “preserving and enhancing the character and appearance of areas of special architectural or historic interest”. It is officially being named the Old York Road Conservation Area.
According to the borough’s planning department, “Wandsworth has forty five conservation areas which vary in size and character from a short street such as Deodar Road to a large area such as West Putney.
“Conservation areas can be the remains of small villages such as Battersea Square or even large areas of twentieth century social housing like the Alton Estate.”

The new Wandsworth Town conservation area includes portions of Alma, Podmore, Bramford and Dalby roads, some of Ballantine Street, Coach House Yard, Edgel Street and 7 Lovetts Place. As well as Masumins Kiosk on the station forecourt, a large portion of Old York Road and Tonsley Hill are now also covered by the 1990 Planning Act.



The conservation area map from Wandsworth council planning department

Conservation areas usually mean tougher planning regulations and it’s possible that residents and businesses in the Old York Road Conservation Area will now be bound by certain property development restrictions. In other conservations areas in the borough, such as the Latchmere Estate or Wandsworth Common, Article 4 Directions are applied.

In areas where Article 4 Directions are in force, there are additional controls in place, requiring a planning application to be made for work which would otherwise have been 'permitted development'.

Such works can include replacement windows and doors, recovering roofs, works to chimneys, painting or covering elevations in another material, hard standings and new boundary treatments - for example, alterations to walls or fences.