English Heritage
Printable version E-mail this to a friend

Local heritage matters - English Heritage publishes new guidance to help protect small to medium sized towns, suburbs and other local areas

Small and medium-sized towns, suburbs, villages and hamlets, historic town centres, and other local areas will benefit from undertaking historic area assessments in the face of increasing pace of change, says English Heritage who has published guidance to help local authorities and others to conduct such assessments.
Understanding Place: Historic Area Assessment - Principles and Practice sets out in detail a systematic method of understanding, within a short space of time, the heritage interest of a fairly small area or neighbourhood. This type of assessment will identify the features that contribute to the historic character of an area, as well as issues that may threaten to change that character such as infilling of vacant sites, new developments, 'garden-grabbing' in residential suburbs, or redundant and derelict buildings.
The aim is to enable planners, developers, local authorities, other professionals as well as the public to judge which parts of an area are most significant or valuable and which are most vulnerable to change.  By also articulating clearly which parts of the historic environment are heavily altered or degraded, and which are capable of absorbing and benefiting from substantial change, these assessments provide a sound basis for informed decision-making in planning, regeneration and conservation.
Places such as the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter, the village of Harmondsworth near Heathrow, Berwick-upon-Tweed, the Sea Mills Garden Suburb in Bristol, and South Shoreditch in London have all benefited from having historic area assessments undertaken. 
Dr Anthony Streeten, Regional Director for English Heritage in the East Midlands, said: “England is renowned for containing great diversity within a relatively small country. The broad contrasts between various landscapes are striking – especially here in the East Midlands, but variety and unique character are also present at more intimate local levels as well. This is what makes places in the East Midlands attractive to businesses, visitors and residents. This guidance will help people understand and protect those finer grain details that make our neighbourhoods special.
“People care passionately about their local heritage. If we can provide them with the tools to understand their surroundings better, they will be able to discuss and decide on new developments from an informed position which ultimately leads to a better stewardship of the historic environment without hindering positive change.”
Historic area assessments are especially valuable during the early planning stages of eco towns, regeneration schemes, and housing growth areas; when an area faces large scale redevelopment including major infrastructure projects; when an area is put forward for designation as a conservation area; when restoration schemes of historic estates, parks and gardens are being proposed; or during the formulation of Masterplans, Heritage Partnership Agreements and Area Action Plans.

The full versionof Understanding Place: Historic Area Assessment - Principles and Practice, and a shorter version specifically aimed at local authorities and developers are available on
www.helm.org.uk. A third document that introduces the various interrelated approaches to historic characterisation (of which Historic Area Assessment is one) is also newly published.

These documents will be launched at the Institute of Historic Building Conservation Annual School, to take place from 10th – 12th June at the Royal School of Physicians in London.

Spotlight on women at Serco – Anita’s story