In case you haven't picked it up elsewhere I thought I'd bring list members
attention to the press release announcing EH's response to the designations
consultation, which can now be found on the EH website.
A press release on the EH response to the Historic Environment Records
consultation will be issued shortly.
Martin
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Martin Newman
Heritage Information Partnerships Supervisor & SMR Forum List Owner
National Monuments Record
English Heritage
Phone - 01793 414718
Fax - 01793 414770
Email - [log in to unmask]
Join the HELPs email list at www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/helps.html
459/11/03 4
November 2003
SECURING THE
FUTURE OF HERITAGE PROTECTION
English Heritage today, Tuesday 4 November 2003, announced details of its
response to the Government's consultation on the future of heritage
protection, "Protecting our historic environment: making the system work
better".
Dr Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said: "The
foundation of our response is the commitment, shared by the Secretary of
State in announcing this review, that we need to maintain the present levels
of statutory protection for the historic environment. We also welcome the
recognition that a successful system should retain its time-tested core
components while enhancing them with greater simplicity, flexibility,
openness and rigour."
English Heritage believes the end result must be that:
· owners are better informed about why their property or ancient
monument has been protected, what is considered important about it and how
they can best look after it;
· local authorities have clearer guidance about how to enable change and
apply controls;
· developers enjoy greater certainty;
· amenity societies and others concerned locally or nationally with
conserving the historic environment are better able to obtain information
and participate; and
· everyone should benefit from a simpler system and from the proposed
responsibilities and disciplines on English Heritage.
The current system of heritage designation involves the listing of
buildings, scheduling of archaeological sites and the registration of
historic parks, gardens and battlefields. This stage needs to be strictly
confined to assessing archaeological, architectural or historic significance
against national criteria.
The regulatory regime, which follows listing, should continue as now to
connect with the planning system and the various regimes for managing change
in the natural and agri-environmental world. We believe that it is here
that the wider issues of economic value, regeneration and community benefit
can be properly addressed. This includes the management of extensive
archaeological sites in the agri-environment.
We are opposed to the idea of moving existing Grade II buildings to local
lists or of delegating Grade II listing to local authorities. These
buildings are listed according to strict national criteria and we believe a
plethora of local interpretations would have the potential to create the
sort of confusion that owners and developers fear.
We welcome the proposal to give English Heritage the statutory
responsibility for compiling the national List as a means of delivering
greater clarity and accountability while removing some of the misconceptions
about the distinction between Government as policy maker and English
Heritage as case-by-case decision maker. A series of robust safeguards are
proposed by the consultation document which we believe will avoid the need
for an independent scrutiny committee to examine each proposed designation
and which would only serve to complicate a process the reforms are aiming to
simplify. The safeguards comprise:
· being required to work within published government policies and strict
criteria for listing;
· a new right of appeal;
· the Secretary of State retaining a call-in power; and
· the requirement for English Heritage to give an annual account of its
stewardship.
Simon Thurley, added: "We recognise that there is still much work to do to
flesh out the detailed implications of putting the improved system into
practice. Ministers have now agreed our proposals to refocus our
designation resources over the next two years to pilot the new ideas of a
single national List, unified designation and more flexible management. Our
intention is that our 30 pilot schemes should inform Government's future
decision-making right through the process to new legislation and beyond.
"However, for the project to be successful, English Heritage believes that
the time is right for a wide-ranging debate around the issue of resources
and how the management of the historic environment should work. Ensuring
the new system can be implemented successfully requires a considerable
increase in capacity building and education in local authorities and across
the sector and a commitment to improving the quality of decision making at
all levels. It should be made a priority in the Government's 2004 spending
review because it would be an investment for the nation."
Simon Thurley concluded: "In taking forward the Government's proposals for
a new system of heritage protection and ensuring they form part of a joined
up approach to the management of the historic environment, we are committed
to working with the DCMS, ODPM and DEFRA, as well as local authorities and
our partners in the historic environment sector."
- Ends -
For further information contact Tim Read on 020 7973 3251 or e-mail
[log in to unmask]
The full text of our response to the DCMS can be found on our website at
www.english-heritage.org.uk
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Jonathan Bateman
Information Officer
Council for British Archaeology
Bowes Morrell House 111 Walmgate
York YO1 9WA
tel 01904 671417
fax 01904 671384
[log in to unmask]
The Council for British Archaeology
http://www.britarch.ac.uk
TORC :: Training Online Resource Centre for Archaeology
http://www.torc.org.uk
Join CBA/YAC & buy CBA books through our
online shop at www.britarch.ac.uk/shop
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