obscure them, or to block out the backdrop of countryside at the end of Westerham's streets. And the height, volume and overall appear-ance of any new building must be kept in proportion to what is already there.
The town's shopping area has contracted in recent
years, with relatively little retail activity west of the Croydon Road. The shopfronts are generally of a high standard, although we would prefer to see less use of metal.
The simplest elements can work wonders for shopfront design; the small supermarket on the corner of London Road, once done up in a glaring, blaring red, has been vastly improved by the use of gentler colours.
Greater restraint in the number of road signs in the town centre would be welcomed; there is surely a case for rationalising and reducing these.
Paving design has been handled imaginatively in many streets - such as on the north side of The Green, where old-style ironstone cobbles at the sides flank a smooth pathway down the centre. The traditional stone pavement outside the King's Arms and Winterton House is also felt to be excellent.
The brick paving used in Market Square, on the other hand, is both inappropriate and, in wet or icy weather, dangerous as
