English Heritage has published the principles on which its professional advice is based.
They are that:
- The historic environment is a shared resource;
- Everyone should be able to participate in sustaining the historic environment;
- Understanding the significance of places is vital;
- Significant places should be managed to sustain their values;
- Decisions about change must be reasonable, transparent and consistent; and
- Documenting and learning from decisions is essential.
The idea of 'significance' lies at the core of these principles. Significance is the term we use for the sum of all the heritage values attached to a place, be it a building, an archaeological site or a larger historic area such as a whole village or landscape.
People value historic places in many different ways. We think they can be grouped into four categories. Heritage value can be found in:
- The potential a place has to tell us more about the past ('evidential value'),
- The power which a place has to connect us with an aspect of the past ('historical value').
- The way people react to being in an historic place is another type of heritage value ('aesthetic value'),
- The way they bring people and communities together ('communal value').
Our 'Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance' booklet includes the policies that we apply when offering advice or making decisions.
These are supported by guidance on how to apply them.
The policies help us to give consistent advice across England. They cover issues such as when restoration is appropriate, how to judge whether a new addition to an historic place sustains its values and when it is appropriate to support enabling development proposals to secure the future of an historic place.
Although 'Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance' is intended mainly to guide English Heritage staff on best practice, we also hope that, like all of our guidance, the principles will be read and used by local authorities, property owners, developers and professional advisers.
