Heritage Assessments
A Heritage Assessment should accompany applications for new development that affect a heritage asset or its setting. This is sometimes referred to as a Heritage Statement or Heritage Impact Assessment. The National Planning Policy Framework, which is the current government planning guidance, places the onus on the developer to provide enough information with their application to understand the proposals potential impact on any heritage asset affected.
To help you understand what detail is required for your Heritage Assessment, we provide pre-application advice. This allows us to make sure the supporting information produced for your application is fit for purpose. This includes ensuring documents contain the minimum required to understand the significance of the heritage assets affected to inform any potential impact thus advice the most reasonable ways to deal with that impact. The level of detail included should be 'proportionate' to the asset's importance and, 'no more than is sufficient to understand the impact of the proposal' on the heritage asset(s) significance. 'As a minimum, the Historic Environment Record (HER) should be consulted'.
Applicants will be required to submit a Heritage Assessment alongside applications for Listed Building Consent and Certificates of Lawfulness of Proposed Works (listed buildings). Some planning applications, where the proposal has the potential to affect a heritage asset(s), directly or indirectly (including views and setting), may also call for a Heritage Assessment.
A Heritage Statement should describe the assets affected and their significance, any proposed changes made, 'to avoid or minimise any conflict between the heritage asset's conservation and any aspect of the proposal', as well as justification for the proposed works.
Below is a list of heritage assets, which may trigger the need for a Heritage Assessment. Please note there may be other heritage assets, which are not mentioned, that may also require an assessment:
- listed buildings
- conservation areas
- scheduled monuments
- registered battlefields
- undesignated archaeological monuments, sites and areas
- historic farm buildings and complexes
- memorials
- historic shop fronts
- designed landscapes and parks
- estate buildings (gate lodges and cottages etc.)
- religious/municipal buildings (schools, chapels and meeting rooms etc.)
- Locally listed heritage assets
The National Planning Policy advises 'using appropriate expertise where necessary' to produce a Heritage Assessment. There are various guidance documents online on how to write a Heritage Assessment, however for small-scale applications we have produced a short guidance document available to download.
Related Documents:
Historic England - Statements of Heritage Significance
Historic England - Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance
CADW - Setting of Historic Assets in Wales
CADW - Conservation Principles for the sustainable management of the historic environment in Wales