Character Appraisal Study and Boundary Review of Factory Locks Conservation Area, Tipton

The purpose of the study to which this report relates has been to provide a comprehensive character assessment and objective appraisal of the current conservation area and surrounding area. The area of study, as defined within the briefing documentation, was therefore greater than the area covered by the current conservation area. The principal aim of this study has been to establish a conservation area boundary that is based upon robust defendable reasoning. The designation of the Factory Locks Conservation Area in 1986 was regarded as essential to secure the survival of buildings along the Tipton Canal corridor that were regarded as being of higher than average historical and architectural merit, and to enhance the quality of any future development. The study area investigated for this appraisal and review included the existing conservation area and extended outward from the present boundaries along the canal corridor to form a circuit around the town with arms extending to the south and west beyond this circuit.