Designation Case Studies
Identifying heritage through designation is an essential part of our heritage protection system. As a general rule buildings are 'listed', archaeology is 'scheduled' and parks and gardens are 'registered'. One of the key aims of Heritage Protection Reform is to unify our approach to buildings, archaeology, and parks and gardens. Our current work can be divided into the two broad areas; 'reactive and threat-driven designation' casework and strategic designation projects. This balance enables us to be responsive to concerns, as well as to address wider areas of concern on a more strategic basis.
Most spot-designation casework is generated by requests to list buildings from sources including local planning authorities, members of the public and amenity societies. A wide variety of building types are covered by the requests ranging from telephone boxes, bridges and traditional timber-framed buildings to post-war housing estates and military structures from the Cold War era. Each case goes through rigorous assessment to determine whether or not it meets the criteria for selection as set out in the Principles of Selection and our designation selection guides. A decision on whether or not to list the building is made by the Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), based on recommendations prepared by English Heritage.
Strategic projects have been developed to allow us to take a more proactive approach towards designation and respond to areas or asset types vulnerable to change. Our early involvement in the planning process where the historic environment is undergoing change provides owners and local planning authorities with a greater degree of certainty and clarity over the special interest of their historic assets. This can be taken into account when decisions are being made.
Strategic projects include Defined Area Surveys, which are geographically defined projects such as High Street 2012 in London or Anglican churches 1840-1939 in the Diocese of Birmingham. Defined Area Surveys allow us to review the designation base across the historic environment range within a given area: buildings, sites and designed landscapes are all looked at. The projects are often undertaken in partnership with local planning authorities and supported where appropriate by targeted research. The end result is a focussed programme of designation that makes a real difference to the protection of a place.
National thematics provide a means to devote our resources towards issues on a national basis. There are currently two national priorities; schools and cemeteries. The Derbyshire Schools designed by George Widdows project has brought up to date the designation basis of a highly significant set of school buildings on a county basis, thereby providing certainty in advance of plans for change. Schools are being sampled across the country by date and location, with the aim of building up exemplar case studies and to inform the national picture. For cemeteries, the project has brought up to date the grading of over 100 registered cemeteries as a way of reflecting the growing appreciation of these places.
Designation cases are often high-profile and frequently controversial. The Heritage Protection Department is kept busy maintaining the statutory designation basis, through this combination of responsive and strategic approaches.
