The mud walls are thought to date from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries

A Cambridgeshire town’s mud walls have been given new protections. Traditional mud walls in Whittlesey now cannot be demolished, removed, or altered without specific planning permission.

An immediate ‘Article 4 Direction’ requiring the permission for works affecting traditional mud walls was agreed by Fenland District Council’s cabinet committee at the end of January. A consultation is now open for the public to have their say.

Cllr Dee Laws, Fenland’s portfolio holder for planning said: “Whittlesey’s traditional mud walls are a distinctive and irreplaceable element of the town’s heritage, and their continued loss would result in permanent harm to local character and sense of place.

“We’re delighted to take this action to offer protection for these important features and look forward to working with owners of land and property where the walls are to ensure they’re conserved.”

A report to the council’s cabinet said Whittlesey’s nationally rare mud walls were made using locally sourced clay mixed with straw and built in tapering layers. Most of Whittlesey’s mud walls are thought to date from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

There are several sections of boundary mud walls in Whittlesey. While seven are Grade II listed, the others were not protected.

The Article 4 direction does not wholly prevent any changes being made to traditional mud walls. It does now require planning permission to be sought and granted beforehand.

This allows the council to properly assess the impact of proposed works, balance heritage considerations with other material planning matters, and grant permission where works are justified and appropriately designed. The council’s consultation on the new protections runs until Monday, March 16.