Section Two 

The Environment

Environmental and Conservation Areas

Conservation Areas are areas of special architectural or historic interest, which are considered worthy of preservation or enhancement. They are covered by the provisions of Section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. 

The main provisions of this Act are to enable controls to be placed on new building, alterations or demolition of existing buildings and matters arboreal; the felling, lopping, uprooting and topping of trees. The fact that an area is designated a conservation area does not preclude the possibility of new development, but it does provide that such development be designed to preserve or enhance the conservation area.

Little Marlow village was one of the first areas to be designated a Conservation Area by (the then) Buckinghamshire County Council on 14^th September 1970. The boundary of the area was slightly amended by Wycombe District Council in 1991 to include more of the area of the Manor House grounds and, at the same time, a small strip of field south of School Lane was removed. The other conservation areas in the Parish are Abbotsbrook, Well End and Sheepridge.

Conservation Area Little Marlow Village

It should be noted that Little Marlow Parish has a high proportion of listed buildings, more than 20 in all, of which the 12^th Century Parish Church of St. John Baptist rates a starred Two category.

The Norman church is located at the heart of the village a stone’s throw from the river Thames, although most of the current building was completed some two hundred years later. Points of interest include some 15th Century stained glass, the unusual revolving lych gate and the war memorial. The prolific English writer and poet Edgar Wallace (1875 - 1932) is buried in the nearby cemetery.

St John the Baptist, Little Marlow Parish Church

There are several other factors that govern development within the parish of Little Marlow; it is land designated as Green Belt and much of it falls within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB). It must also be remembered that large tracts of Little Marlow fall within the Thames Flood Plain and that in itself renders development inadvisable.

In addition to those restrictions, Wycombe District Council, in their Plan to 2011, have placed many additional restrictions on development within the Parish (Policies G 20, G21)

Housing

The Parish of Little Marlow contains some 574 dwellings split between several small areas; Abbotsbrook,  Burroughs Grove, Coldmoorholme Lane, Fern, Little Marlow village, Pump Lane, Sheepridge, Well End, Westhorpe and Winchbottom. The population declined slightly in the late nineties from 1393 in 1996 down to 1330 in 2001. Of those, 1063 are over 18 years old.

There is relatively little new development and that is mainly due to the lack of availability of land that is not within the Green Belt. Development is largely restricted to property improvement and extensions. A considerable portion of the parish lies within the Thames flood plain and that in itself is not conducive to housing development.

The Parish Council deals with approximately 60 planning applications a year. 

Footpaths, Bridleways and Cycle paths

It is important to differentiate between footpaths that are alongside highways and those that cross open country. For clarity, we will refer to those alongside highways as pavements.

Cross-Country Paths

The Parish Council took very seriously their obligations under the Countryside Act of 1948. They were required to map all the footpaths under their jurisdiction and on many occasions over the years they have defended the footpaths and, when necessary, arranged for realignment.

Footpath from the Queen’s Head to Westhorpe

The paths are well used and, generally speaking, walkers keep to them and do not leave debris, although litter is apparent on the riverbank and around the lake. Constant vigilance is required to maintain our footpaths and to ensure that none are encroached upon.

Highway Footpaths - Pavements

These are of differing quality and in some places, non-existent. Alongside the A4155 pedestrians have to share their pavement with cyclists. The pavement lies to the South of the road as it exits from Well End and then crosses to the North side at Wilton Farm.

Cycle Path – side of the A4155

In Sheepridge Lane, a road that has become a high-speed rat-run for motorists, there are no footpaths/pavements at all. Pedestrians are required to take their life in their hands and walk in the roadway or take to the uneven and unkempt grass verge; an impossible situation. The Parish Council is currently dealing with this problem.

The other areas of the Parish, Abbotsbrook, Coldmoorholme Lane, Fern Lane and Little Marlow village are generally without pavements, but the nature of vehicular traffic is such that paths are not strictly necessary. In most places it would be difficult, if not impossible, to provide them.

Bridleways

We have just the one Bridleway in the Parish; it runs from the end of Fern Lane across to Sheepridge Lane and therefore is little used. 

 Cycle Paths

A cycle path has been provided on the footway between Well End and Little Marlow. The cyclist riding on to Marlow then has the benefit of a short section of dedicated carriageway before being required to use the footpath again at Wilton Farm; an unsatisfactory state of affairs and a danger for both pedestrians and cyclists. 
They also have great difficulty crossing the roundabout over the A404 Marlow By-Pass due to the sheer weight of traffic.

Summary   -  Introduction  -  Section 1  -  Section 2  - Section 3  -  Section 4  -  Section 5  -  Section 6  -  Section 7

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03/07/2007

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