Conservation area: Call to repair Horsham's neglected historic buildings

The call comes from Rod Cuming, a trustee of the town watchdog group, the Horsham Society. "Some landlords, some property owners and some tenants are letting the side down,” he said.

“It might be argued that standards have slipped because of the pandemic and the impact it has had on sales, rents, incomes and profits.

"There may be some truth in this argument but much of the neglect goes way back before Covid entered our lives. Rotten window sills, peeling paint, crumbling plaster and grubby walls have featured on some of the buildings for years.

"It’s time the reluctant landlords or tenants or whoever is responsible stepped up and made the investment needed to do justice to this special area and indeed to do justice to their own businesses and properties.”

Rod, writing in the Horsham Society’s latest newsletter, points out that conservation areas are ‘areas of special architectural or historical interest, the character and appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance.’

And he highlights Horsham’s lime-tree lined Causeway as “just how a conservation area should look. It looks cared for. It looks cherished.”

However, he says: “Not all parts of our Conservation Areas receive such care. It is true that in our town centre there are many splendid shops boasting attractive, well-maintained shop fronts and internal premises.

"Such premises are not only inviting for customers but also respect the special nature of our town centre. Sadly, it is also true that there are too many properties that fall far short of the standards of care and maintenance that might reasonably be expected throughout our Town Centre Conservation Area.”

He said examples of neglect could be seen at a number of buildings in West Street. He said the current empty shop formerly occupied by The Edinburgh Woollen Mill “is an eyesore with peeling paintwork, grubby display windows and a mucky interior.”

But he highlighted a gable above the Jones The Bootmaker shoe shop as an example of “where the frontage is properly maintained and the detail of the plasterwork is carefully picked out.”

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Other areas in need of a spruce up, Rod maintains, are in East Street and on the east side of Horsham’s Carfax.

The Horsham Society has previously urged Horsham District Council to toughen up management plans on the maintenance, repair and restoration of buildings.

“The problem is how to make this happen,” said Rod. “The council’s powers are quite limited. In extreme cases where there may be a danger to the public, the council can step in and work with property owners to improve the premises.

"If the owners fail to make improvements, the council can take action to make the property safe and place a charge on the property. However, on the less dramatic matter of routine property repair and maintenance, respecting the town’s character and heritage, the council must rely mainly on encouragement and exhortation.”

And he asked people to send their views to the Horsham Society on how property owners and occupiers could be persuaded “not only to carry out basic repair and maintenance but to meet the standards which our Conservation Areas deserve.”