A LANDLORD has been told they cannot replace old timber windows on a property to protect tenants from drafts to maintain the historical character of a street scene.

Emmex International, which owns 2 Wilson Road, saw plans to replace the original Victorian windows with “heritage style” UPVC double glazed windows refused by Southend Council last year.

An appeal to the government to overturn the decision has been rejected with the planning inspector ruling in favour of “protecting the Clifftown Conservation Area” (CCA).

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The property is a traditional Victorian two storey semi-detached home that has been sub-divided into flats.

The landlord claimed the change was necessary to “improve thermal performance”.

The council argued the loss of original the timber windows “would cause harm to the historic character of the existing property, the street scene of Wilson Road and the wider conservation area”.

During a site visit, the planning inspector noted he use of timber sash windows “throughout the wider area and these make a significant contribution to the authenticity, and thus the character and appearance, of the CCA as a whole.”

Dispute the original windows being “in a poor state of repair” the inspector ruled the replacement windows were “overtly modern” and would “be apparent from the street to passers-by.”

“It would thus harm the significance of the CA, particularly in regard to its authenticity,” they added.

There are 15 conservation areas in the borough of Southend; they exist to provide more stringent planning controls on those areas to preserve buildings and places considered to be of historical importance.

Leigh Lib Dem councillor Peter Wexham says conservation areas are important and necessary to protect “the history and identity of areas”.

“Without conservation areas we would lose much of what gives an area its unique character and feel,” he said.

Earlier this month a homeowner in Seaview Road, part of the Leigh Cliffs Conservation Area, was ordered to rebuild an historic front garden wall.

The homeowner had pulled down the wall and submitted a bid to the council to replace it with a disabled parking space.

The application was rejected and now the homeowner must rebuild the wall – with the original bricks which have been kept stored in their home – or face legal action.