Block Management in Fairford
Two River Coln warning areas, and no National Landscape designation.
Fairford freeholders, RTM companies and residents' management companies can use us for block management, from the annual budget to lease consents. Two River Coln warning areas cover parts of the town, at 11.41 and 9.73 per cent, under an alert covering 21.29 per cent. Most of Fairford is radon class 3, where measurement is advised, and the town sits outside the Cotswolds National Landscape.
What We Would Put First for a Block in Fairford
Confirm Coln Warning Coverage Per Block
The River Coln at Fairford warning area covers 11.41 per cent of the town and names no streets, so coverage is area-based. We would check each block against the mapped area, record it in the compliance record and give insurers an accurate position.
InsuranceTest Ground-Floor Areas for Radon
Six of the seven squares over Fairford, 93.2 per cent of the town, are class 3 at 3 to 5 per cent, where measurement is advised. We would recommend radon measurement in ground-floor communal areas and keep the results on file.
ComplianceConfirm the Conservation Area Position
The council's published fields give dates of 8 January 2022 and 23 May 1990, and there is no adopted appraisal. Before external works we would confirm the position with the council and check the September 2022 character design assessment.
ConsentsManaging a Block in Fairford at a Glance
- Local authority
- Cotswold District Council
- Authority type
- District, under the county council
- Building control
- Cotswold District Council Building Control
- County
- Gloucestershire
- Fire and rescue service
- Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service
- Water and sewerage
- Thames Water
- From our Plymouth office
- About 138 miles in a straight line
- Setting
- Inland
What It Costs to Move a Block in Fairford to Us
Management is a fixed annual fee, quoted for the building and agreed before we start. We take no commission and no third-party incentives, so the fee is the whole of what we earn from the building. Taking a block on carries a one-off start-up fee, set by size:
| Block size | Fee |
|---|---|
| Start-up fee, up to 10 units | £420.00 |
| Start-up fee, up to 25 units | £540.00 |
| Start-up fee, 50 units and above | £660.00 |
Taken from our published Additional Services price list, PBM Form #01-27 rev.6, effective 23 June 2025. All fees quoted are inclusive of VAT. See the full price list and how a handover works.
Two River Coln Warning Areas Reach the Town
Three Environment Agency areas contain part of the built-up area. The River Coln and its tributaries alert, running from Whittington down to the confluence with the Thames, covers 21.29 per cent of the town. Alongside it are two warning areas: the River Coln at Fairford, covering 11.41 per cent, and the River Coln for the Cotswold Water Park and Whelford, covering 9.73 per cent. The Marston Meysey Brook warning area mentions Fairford by name in its published description, but its mapped area does not touch the town. None of the three areas that do apply names streets, so the warning here is area-based rather than address-based. Each block needs checking against the mapped areas before flood cover is placed.
Flats Are a Small Part of Fairford's Housing
Two wards split the town. Fairford North has all seven of its census output areas inside the built-up area. It holds 1,014 households with 41 in purpose-built blocks, 4.0 per cent, three in a converted or shared house, eight in another converted building and four over commercial premises. The other ward, Lechlade, Kempsford and Fairford South, has only seven of its twenty-two output areas in the town and is dominated by Lechlade and Kempsford, so its 2,773 households should not be read as Fairford. Flats are a small part of Fairford's housing, so each block's budget should be built from its own survey rather than from town-wide norms.
Higher-Graded Heritage Centres on St Mary's Churchyard
One conservation area, with two conflicting published dates: the council gives a designation date of 8 January 2022 and a start date of 23 May 1990. The date is worth confirming with the council before relying on it. At 73.2 hectares, the area covers 21.17 per cent of the built-up area, though only about half of the designation lies inside the town, the rest extending into open country along the Coln. There is no adopted appraisal, only a boundary map. The nearest thing to one is a character design assessment prepared in September 2022 as an annexe to the neighbourhood plan, which is a different instrument carrying different weight. Before external works on a block, both the boundary and that assessment should be checked.
114 entries on the National Heritage List fall inside the built-up area. One is Grade I, the Church of St Mary, listed on 26 November 1958, and four are Grade II*. Three of the four Grade II* entries are churchyard monuments at St Mary's, and the fourth is a dovecote in the former Park Farm yard. The town's higher-graded heritage is therefore concentrated in a single church and its churchyard rather than spread along a street. Where a block is listed, it is most likely Grade II, and consent is still needed for works affecting its character.
Class 3 Radon Across 93.2 Per Cent of Fairford
Moderate. Six of the seven one-kilometre squares over the built-up area are class 3, covering 93.2 per cent of the town, at 3 to 5 per cent of homes at or above the action level. There, radon measurement is advised. The seventh square, covering 6.8 per cent, is in the lowest band, with under 1 per cent of homes at or above the action level, where measurement is not advised. For most blocks in the town, radon measurement in ground-floor communal areas belongs in the compliance record.
That is national advice about the ground, not about the building. The same map excludes basements, cellars and underground spaces at every band, so an enclosed plant room, undercroft or lower-ground flat is still worth a look even here, and whatever is found belongs with the compliance record.
A 2023 Neighbourhood Plan and No Article 4
Decided under the Cotswold District Local Plan 2011 to 2031, adopted 3 August 2018. The Fairford Neighbourhood Development Plan was made by Cotswold District Council on 5 June 2023 after a referendum on 4 May 2023 carried by 89.8 per cent of those voting. It came with a landscape and local green space study and a character design assessment as annexes. There is no Article 4 direction here: Fairford appears nowhere among the district's 22 directions. Fairford is not in the Cotswolds National Landscape. The built-up area has no overlap with the designation and its nearest boundary is about 2.3 kilometres away. External works on a block therefore turn on the conservation area and listing.
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Fairford Questions
Do Article 4 Rules Apply to a Fairford Block?
No. Fairford appears nowhere among Cotswold District's 22 Article 4 directions. The conservation area still applies, covering 21.17 per cent of the built-up area. There is no adopted appraisal, only a boundary map and a 2022 character design assessment annexed to the neighbourhood plan.
Is Fairford in the Cotswolds National Landscape?
No. The built-up area has no overlap with the designation and its nearest boundary is about 2.3 kilometres away. Decisions are taken under the Cotswold District Local Plan 2011 to 2031 and the Fairford Neighbourhood Development Plan, made on 5 June 2023 after a referendum carried by 89.8 per cent of those voting.
Does the Marston Meysey Brook Warning Cover Fairford?
No. Its published description mentions Fairford by name, but its mapped area does not touch the town. Only three Environment Agency areas contain part of the built-up area: the River Coln and its tributaries alert, the River Coln at Fairford warning area and the River Coln for the Cotswold Water Park and Whelford warning area.
Nearby Areas
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