I chair the Salisbury Conservation Advisory Panel, a body which brings together representatives of local and national organisations to give advice to Wiltshire Council on the historic built environment.

All Panel members will have been delighted to see Cliona Hibbert's piece in Councillors' Corner on August 3, extolling the merits of the city's conservation areas.

Keeping an eye on these areas is a key part of the Panel's work, across the whole of South Wiltshire but inevitably with a particular focus on Salisbury.

Cliona is entirely correct in saying that its conservation areas are an important contributor to the retention of its character.

The planning system is unfortunately not quite as robust as it might be in protecting such areas, and damaging changes can still take place without the need for planning permission.

Valuable additional controls could be introduced by Wiltshire Council, and asking for such controls has been a perennial topic for the Panel, as it was previously in the days of Salisbury District Council.

In the absence of such added controls, it becomes all the more important for people living in the conservation areas to appreciate their merits, and to take their own measures to ensure their qualities remain undamaged.

Cliona's excellent piece is a very valuable contribution to getting this message across, and I'm sure I speak for all Panel members in applauding it.

Richard Deane, Chairman, Salisbury Conservation Advisory Panel

Ashfield Road, Salisbury