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PROFESS IONAL SERV I CES
rear gardens of Grade II listed buildings
along South Bailey, lies adjacent to the
Grade I listed Durham Castle walls and the
world heritage site, and is located within
the Durham Conservation Area. This
context imposed a number of constraints
on the design of the proposed buildings. In
particular, there was a need to respect the
scale, pattern and hierarchy of the existing
built form and castle walls. Furthermore,
the impact of the development, sitting on
the edge of a plateau above the River Wear,
needed to be considered in important views
from the south and east.
All these factors were relevant to the
preservation of the character and appearance
of the Durham Conservation Area and the
setting of the Durham Castle and Cathedral
World Heritage Site.
In the UK there over 460,000 listed
buildings, almost 34,000 scheduled
monuments, over 11,000 conservation areas
as well as numerous registered historic parks
and gardens, registered historic battlefields,
designated wrecks and world heritage
sites. Only a minority of these will require
conservation management plans, but every
historic site facing development works needs
some form of heritage appraisal in order to
inform sensitive management and change.
Flexibility in approach is critical to
success, as each report must be tailored to
the needs of the site and its owner and should
respond to practical constraints such as
the available budget, the timescale and the
nature and scale of the site and proposed
conservation or development works. The
current system of heritage protection was
never intended as a permanent barrier to
change: its aim is to ensure that change is
positive and responds sensitively to the special
interest of our collective historic environment.
Conservation and heritage statements are
often crucial to achieving positive outcomes.
Recommended Reading
Ancient Monuments and Archaeological
Areas Act 1979
(England, Wales and
Scotland)
K Clark,
Informed Conservation:
Understanding Historic Buildings and
Their Landscapes for Conservation
,
English Heritage, 2001
K Clark,
Conservation Plans in Action:
Proceedings of the Oxford Conference
,
English Heritage, 1999
N Doggett and S Eydmann, ‘Heritage
Protection in Britain’,
The Building
Conservation Directory
, Cathedral
Communications Ltd, Tisbury, 2007
English Heritage,
Conservation Principles,
Policies and Guidance for the Sustainable
Management of the Historic Environment
,
London, 2008
C Mynors,
Listed Buildings, Conservation
Areas & Monuments, 4th Edition
, Sweet &
Maxwell, London, 2006
J Semple Kerr,
Conservation Plan, 7th Edition
,
Australia ICOMOS, 2013
GLOSSARY
The following definitions are set out in the
National Planning Policy Framework or,
in the case of heritage values, in English
Heritage’s Conservation Principles, Policies
and Guidance:
CONSERVATION (FOR HERITAGE POLICY)
The process of maintaining and managing
change to a heritage asset in a way that
sustains and, where appropriate, enhances its
significance.
HERITAGE ASSET
A building, monument, site,
place, area or landscape identified as having a
degree of significance meriting consideration
in planning decisions, because of its heritage
interest. Heritage asset includes designated
heritage assets and assets identified by the local
planning authority (including local listing).
HERITAGE VALUES
Aspects of worth or
importance that have been attached to places
Significance (for heritage policy) The value of
a heritage asset to this and future generations
because of its heritage interest. That interest
may be archaeological, architectural, artistic
or historic. Significance derives not only from
a heritage asset’s physical presence, but also
from its setting.
LIZ HUMBLE
is the principal at Humble
Heritage. In addition to preparing
conservation and heritage statements, she
is consultant archaeologist to Ripon and
Sheffield cathedrals. The projects described
in this article were undertaken by Woodhall
Planning and Conservation
(see page 41)
.
KEY DIFFERENCES
CONTENT
APPLICATION
Heritage
significance
Conservation
management
Conservation
management
plans
Detailed
assessment
Detailed guidance
with policies and
action plans
• Ongoing management of
complex heritage assets
• Required for HLF grants >£2m
Conservation
statements
Detailed
assessment
General
detailed where
relevant
Similar to above, suitable for less
complex sites or where no major
development is envisaged
Heritage
statements
General
detailed where
relevant
Focus on impact of
specific proposals
on the heritage
identified
One-off requirement for:
• LBC and SMC applications
• Planning applications affecting
designated heritage assets or
demolition of non-designated
heritage assets
Terracotta detailing to the facade of Lincoln Constitutional Club (1895, Grade II):
a conservation statement guided proposals for development of this vacant site,
which had fallen into very poor condition.
A heritage statement for St John’s College, Durham (early 18th century,
Grade II/II*) formed part of a successful application to secure planning
permission and listed building consent for the erection of two accommodation
blocks on this sensitive site inside a conservation area and adjacent to the
Durham Castle and Cathedral World Heritage Site.