Wilsden Conservation Area

The recent conservation area review made some changes to the boundary to include more of the fields around Wilsden Hill due to their importance in terms of setting, and separating the two settlements. Two of these fields also directly adjoin the Grade II listed crosspaths, which are a unique feature of the conservation area along with the strip of land between Wilsden Primary School and Wilsden Beck due its setting value within the village envelope. Since the original conservation area was designated, housing which is out of sympathy with Wilsden has been built on the fields around Well House Mill and this has now been excluded.

Water is an intermittent element as Wilsden Beck and its wooded banks form much of the conservation area’s eastern boundary. The mill pond at Ling Bob Mill is an important water feature at the top of Main Street. Crack Lane is the site of large dwellings and the original village school. All of these buildings are well spaced and set back from the lane, giving it an open character which contrasts with the high density of Main Street. The greenery gives the conservation area a soft edge leading to the fields to the east.