Why do I need a Heritage Statement? Our building isn’t Listed.

Right, now I suspect you think I may be going over old ground as if you regularly read my blogs you will have read:

“What is a heritage asset? Is my building a heritage asset?” https://jameswood1864.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/what-is-heritage-asset-is-my-building.html 

You will recall that in this we talk about some of the factors that can make a building a non designated heritage asset;- as you will remember it is mostly about the date which they were built, the generic date for a building being classed as being of a heritage importance is one of those built on or before 1919.

But as discussed in the blog above there can be multiple reasons for a building built after this date to be significant, and these are:

·         Emotional

·         Cultural

·         Technological

·         Historical

·         It’s Setting

It doesn’t matter if the site/building is in the middle of a city of in the middle of the countryside, the same principles apply.

 

 

 

For those new to this it may be interesting to look at on what most professionals in this field base their approach to any project. These are the ICOMOS Guidelines,( https://www.icomos.org/en/ ), this guide is broken down into different stages of a process on how one approaches a site or building and the methodology that should be followed, this is as follows:

a.       read a monument, ensemble or site and identify its emotional, cultural and use significance;

b.      understand the history and technology of monuments, ensembles or sites in order to define their identity, plan for their conservation, and interpret the results of this research;

c.       understand the setting of a monument, ensemble or site, their contents and surroundings, in relation to other buildings, gardens or landscapes;

d.      find and absorb all available sources of information relevant to the monument, ensemble or site being studied;

e.      understand and analyse the behaviour of monuments, ensembles and sites as complex systems;

f.        diagnose intrinsic and extrinsic causes of decay as a basis for appropriate action;

g.       inspect and make reports intelligible to non-specialist readers of monuments, ensembles or sites, illustrated by graphic means such as sketches and photographs;

h.      know, understand and apply Unesco conventions and recommendations, and ICOMOS and other recognized Charters, regulations and guidelines;

i.         make balanced judgements based on shared ethical principles, and accept responsibility for the long-term welfare of cultural heritage;

j.        recognize when advice must be sought and define the areas of need of study by different specialists, e.g. wall paintings, sculpture and objects of artistic and historical value, and/or studies of materials and systems;

k.       give expert advice on maintenance strategies, management policies and the policy framework for environmental protection and preservation of monuments and their contents, and sites;

l.         document works executed and make same accessible;

m.    work in multi-disciplinary groups using sound methods;

n.      be able to work with inhabitants, administrators and planners to resolve conflicts and to develop conservation strategies appropriate to local needs, abilities and resources;

Now there could easily be a separate blog written for each guidance item, so I cannot cover each of these in this particular blog. The main purpose for all the guidance principles is the importance of understanding. One of Historic England’s Conservation Principles is that

‘understanding the significance of places is vital… in order to identify the significance of a place, it is necessary first to understand its fabric and how and why it has changed over time’.

This principle is the underlying base information that should inform every aspect of the proposed intervention on a building or site/area. Not only will this satisfy specialists such as Historic England but it will also answer any queries from the Local Authority’s Heritage/Conservation Officer. But more importantly it means that you will do the right thing for the building.

Now this doesn’t mean that you need to undertake some completely massive report for a minor project on a building which is of minimal importance, even Historic England says:

“The level of detail should be proportionate to the importance of the assets and no more than is sufficient to understand the potential impact of the proposal on their significance.”  

It’s not just Historic England. The Local Authority will have requirements for assessing a new application; The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states at paragraph 128 that:

‘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’.

There are no mysteries to the process, although specialist advice is often needed. What might be needed depends on the nature of the asset and the level of intervention proposed; as the NPPF states, the statement should be ‘proportionate’, and ‘no more than is sufficient’.

A Heritage Statement should cover the following 5 items:

1. History and development of the asset, using photographic, map, archival and fabric evidence.  It is sometimes useful to think of this as the story of the asset, using the information gathered to provide evidence for your conclusions.

2. A consideration of the archaeological, architectural, historical or other significance of the asset should be objectively put forward; it will provide the report with credibility to give an honest assessment of the asset especially if this can then be evidence based.

3. Impact of the proposed works on the significance of the asset, and a statement of

4. Justification for those works, together with details of any mitigation measures proposed.

5. A Photographic record showing the site context and spaces and features which might be affected by the proposal, preferably cross-referenced to application drawings. These photos can be useful to describe the evolution of the building and to show how a proposal is working with an existing situation.

People sometimes make the mistake of doing this heritage based research at the end of the development of the scheme, they then struggle to make it work with the areas of importance of the building. If possible this assessment of the heritage of the building should always be the first thing which is done, because this then sets the constraints and rules for the project.

This will not limit the project or make it restrained, but it will allow both the new and the old parts of the site to both flourish and be shown off to their best potential. It will also make your proposals much easier to be justified as the scheme will be grounded in the deep understanding of the building.

I hope the above is useful, and thanks for reading.

James