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T W E N T Y T H I R D E D I T I O N
1
PROFESS IONAL SERV I CES
STATEMENTS OF
SIGNIFICANCE
The view from Historic England
ANDREW BROWN
A
LL OUR
responses to historic places are
conditioned by the values we attach to
them, including which elements of our
perceived inheritance we choose to protect,
what we are prepared to fight for and what we
are willing to let go. That is why the use of a
values-based approach to the management of
change in the world around us, due in large
part to the success of
The Burra Charter
(1979), is embraced by Historic England.
Historic England’s preferred system of
values is set out in the 2008 English Heritage
publication
Conservation Principles
(see
Further Information), which identifies four
categories of heritage value – evidential,
historical, aesthetic and communal – that
together amount to the significance of a place.
This approach draws heavily on
The Burra
Charter
and the work of the late James Semple
Kerr. Historic England commends this system
of values to anyone proposing change to
heritage assets because it allows the effects of
change on what matters about a place to be set
out clearly and any harm to be assessed.
A statement of significance is one of
a number of formats in which the values
attached to a heritage asset might be set out.
Conservation Principles
explains that:
A ‘statement of significance’ of a place
should be a summary of the cultural
and natural heritage values currently
attached to it and how they inter-
relate, which distils the particular
character of the place. It should
explain the relative importance of the
heritage values of the place (where
appropriate, by reference to criteria
for statutory designation), how they
relate to its physical fabric, the extent
of any uncertainty about its values
(particularly in relation to potential
for hidden or buried elements),
and identify any tensions between
potentially conflicting values. So far
as possible, it should be agreed by all
who have an interest in the place. The
result should guide all decisions about
material change to a significant place.
(Paragraph 82)
Before expanding on this concise exposition
of the purpose and content of statements of
significance, however, it may be helpful to
put them into the context of other similar
documents and to clarify the differences.
Heritage impact assessments, as espoused
for example by ICOMOS in relation to world
heritage sites, tend to follow the method
used for environmental impact assessments.
The level of the assessment is usually the
whole heritage asset, which is given a
degree of importance on a scale from local
to international according to its statutory
designation. The effect of proposed change
on that heritage asset is also classified on
a scale ranging from negligible to major.
Tabulation of importance against effect
allows the impact to be classed as anywhere
from major adverse to major beneficial.
This approach, however, does not lend itself
to the assessment of small-scale change
such as alterations to a listed building.
Heritage statements are related to but
distinct from either statements of significance
or heritage impact assessments. They have
become increasingly common as a result of
the following requirement in the
National
Planning Policy Framework
(NPPF):
In determining applications, local
planning authorities should require an
applicant to describe the significance
of any heritage assets affected,
including any contribution made
by their setting. The level of detail
should be proportionate to the assets’
importance and no more than is
sufficient to understand the potential
impact of the proposal on their
significance.
(Paragraph 128)
Many local planning authorities (LPAs)
refer to this paragraph when requiring
applicants to submit a heritage statement
as part of their applications. A heritage
statement not only addresses significance
but also identifies impacts and then goes
on to justify those impacts. Some LPAs
call this a ‘statement of significance and
The churchyard of St Thomas à Becket, Box, Wiltshire: the monuments, the churchyard and its surroundings
have obvious aesthetic value, but their broader and more complex values can also be captured in a good
Statement of Significance.