Improving Heritage Protection

Local Authorities are at the front line of heritage protection and have our full support.

Skilling and Resourcing the Historic Environment Sector.

We have invested in and started a programme of training and capacity-building to support local authorities and encourage best practice.  Our next session begins in February 2009. Also, during 2009, local management agreement pilot projects will spread knowledge and skills by practical participation.

We are working with the LGA, IHBC and ALGAO on a comprehensive assessment of local authority resources to help strengthen advocacy for a better-resourced sector, and also help allay any fears with the most detailed study yet about current and future resources needed. This will be published in February 2009.
 
We are seeking local empowerment for authorities. Following heritage protection legislation, local authorities would gain the power to grant consent for the 2% of cases that include archaeology and currently have to be passed to central government. 

Local authorities will be urged by the PPS to create Historic Environment Records which provide a comprehensive record of the local historic environment. This requirement would be statutory once the new legislation is in place. In the interim, EH will explore how best to support authorities in enhancing existing records to a consistent standard.

Local authorities will be encouraged by the PPS and guidance to explore the benefits of local lists. These will be part of the Historic Environment Records. They will also be asked to publish the criteria against which they assess those assets.

We are spreading our constructive approach to other conservation professionals.

English Heritage has a positive, well informed and collaborative approach to conservation called Constructive Conservation.  

We published our Conservation Principles as a framework for making consistent, well-informed and objective conservation decisions.

We strongly encourage pre-application discussion as a way of collaboratively resolving consent issues at the earliest stage of the process. This will be effectively promoted through the PPS and guidance.

Closing gaps in protection

Reform of secondary planning legislation would enable control over partial demolition in conservation areas – which has been a problem since the Shimizu judgement in 1997. Reform of permitted development rights in conservation areas would allow control over other damaging alterations.

After heritage protection legislation, interim legal protection would be introduced for historic places being considered for designation.

After heritage protection legislation, sites of early human activity would gain better protection where they cannot currently be scheduled.

Changes to the status of World Heritage Sites will make them a material consideration in the planning system. Local planning authorities will be required to consider the effect of planning applications on World Heritage Sites and their settings. These changes will be delivered by the draft WHS Planning Circular currently being processed.

The Marine Bill will provide some level of protection for marine heritage in English waters and the continental shelf.