The 2007 Heritage Protection White Paper set out Government’s aspiration for greater support for local authorities as front-line managers of the historic environment; increased clarity as to what is significant and how; a more pro-active approach to designation, based on public engagement. In addition, it advocated greater support for the development of Historic Environment Records in their crucial role in ensuring well informed heritage and planning consent proposals, and in supporting public engagement and understanding with the historic environment.
Subsequently, and following the postponement of the Heritage Protection Bill in December 2008, EH planned a "Strategic Designation Programme" of defined area and thematic designation, re-engaging with scheduling archaeological sites and registering parks and gardens and prioritising the modernisation of designation records.
The Strategic Designation Programme has delivered a number of defined area designation projects and other pieces of work focused on improvements to the designation base. Strategic Designation work will now be carried forward as a key activity of the NHPP.
Government’s new national Planning Policy Statement for the Historic Environment, PPS5, embodies many of the principles of reform in the Heritage Protection Bill. It includes significantly, a unified approach to heritage assets, without artificial distinctions between buildings, archaeology or designed landscapes, and an emphasis on clearly articulated understanding of significance as the basis for effective and proportionate protection and management of significant parts of the historic environment, whether statutorily designated or not.
EH's Strategy for 2011 - 2015 outlines how we will work to protect and champion England's heritage.
The Heritage Protection Reform Programme, while continuing to implement the White Paper proposals and work towards reformed Heritage Protection legislation, also continues, through training and pioneering new ways of working, to foster the cultural, intellectual and procedural changes that will enable the Plan to operate effectively; they are complementary activities.
Identification and articulation of significance under the NHPP will be increasingly supported by EH’s research capacity. Whilst we will continue to need an overarching corporate Research Strategy, our research effort will be increasingly directed by the needs of the Plan and our other statutory responsibilities.
Heritage at Risk is an existing EH programme which aims to understand the overall state of England’s designated heritage by assessing each of its different components, identifying those that are facing the greatest pressures and threats, and giving some idea as to how these threats may be mitigated. It has its own methodology for prioritisation by threat and currently deals only with assets which are already of acknowledged significance through being designated. In future, however, it will be complemented and supported by outcomes of the plan which extend understanding of the parts of the historic environment, extend understanding of the various threats in operation and their impact, and provide clearer understanding of the significance of particular assets, areas or sites.
