Council chiefs will shell out up to £200,000 in crack down on ‘ugly’ shopfronts including Nationwide and The Works which are ‘harming’ city’s medieval heritage

• Local authority leaders in Canterbury launching investigations into stores using oversized signage deemed to be out-of-keeping with the historical landmarks
• The City Council say a number of stores have got away with ‘overbearing’ décor
• They have invested £200,000 to protect their Unesco World Heritage Status

Council chiefs in one of the UK’s most-visited medieval cities are cracking down on ugly shopfront designs which ‘harm’ its rich heritage.

Local authority leaders in Canterbury, Kent are set to launch investigations into stores using non-traditional materials and oversized signage deemed to be out-of-keeping with the cathedral city’s historic landmarks.

Canterbury City Council (CCC) claims a number of shops have got away with overbearing décor in recent years.

Council chiefs in Canterbury, Kent, one of the UK’s most-visited medieval cities, are cracking down on ugly, non-traditional shopfront designs which ‘harm’ its rich heritage (Canterbury High Street pictured)

This has prompted the authority to place greater emphasis on ensuring conservation guidelines are obeyed.

CCC leader Ben Fitter-Harding said: ‘The city centre is a conservation area and shops are supposed to get consent for anything that would be different to the general standard.

‘There are a lot of examples on the high street of various shop-fronts which have changed quite a lot over the years and are not really sympathetic to our heritage.

‘It can be quite a lot of work to assess those and whether they are in breach of policies,’ he told KentOnline.

Mr Fitter-Harding explained the council has invested between £100,000 and £200,000 in more enforcement staff and lawyers to ensure its conservation policies are adhered to.

Local authority leaders in Canterbury, Kent are set to launch investigations into stores using non-traditional materials and oversized signage (The Works pictured in Canterbury High Street) deemed to be out-of-keeping with the cathedral city’s historic landmarks

He added: ‘We have a bigger legal team to deal with these sorts of problems and to essentially make sure policies are enforced.

‘We all want the city to be beautiful and prosperous.

‘And we’re aware of our Unesco World Heritage Status which needs protecting, so we need to make sure the high street is sympathetic towards that.

‘We’re not going to be doing a blanket review of every shopfront. But people do make reports about unsympathetic shop-fronts, so we will be making sure they are properly scrutinised and the correct enforcement action is taken..’

Mr Fitter-Harding explained the council has invested between £100,000 and £200,000 in more enforcement staff and lawyers to ensure its conservation policies are adhered to. Pictured is Metro Bank, which is out-of-keeping with the city’s aesthetic

Shops which are considered to be out-of-keeping with the city’s medieval aesthetic include Northgate Newsagents – which is painted bright yellow, Nationwide building society with its red-and-blue exterior, and stationery store The Works – which is renown for its vivid yellow and blue bubble font.

The council has drawn up a 300-page long conservation area appraisal and management plan considering how the aesthetics of the popular tourist city can be improved over the next few years.

There are currently no plans to introduce new planning policies but the authority plans to follow the management guide when considering planning applications.

Shops which are considered to be out-of-keeping with the city’s medieval aesthetic include Nationwide building society with its red-and-blue exterior

Mega Fone is another store with a front that does not have a traditional shop-front design in Canterbury

The CCC report reads: ‘Certain shop-fronts have been inappropriately altered over the years and others have been entirely replaced.

‘This incremental change has a negative impact on the special interest of the conservation area.

‘Raising an awareness among shop owners about the importance of retaining historic shop-fronts and about the appropriate design of replacement features would be beneficial.

‘Opportunities should be taken to restore more traditional shop-front designs, reinstating historic features and installing sensitively designed signage.’

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