Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2016: Legislation and policy update for July 2016

An update for July 2016 on the arrangements for historic environment legislation and policy in Wales has been issues by Cadw, covering among other items the 2016 Act, implementation and consultations.

Cadw writes:

1. The Historic Environment (Wales) Bill received Royal Assent on 21 March 2016. The full text of the Act and the Explanatory Notes are available on the internet at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/
2. Significant changes were made in two areas of the Act during Stage 3 consideration:

Historic Environment Records — The Assembly accepted amendments to transfer the duty for compiling and updating the historic environment records (HERs) from local planning authorities to the Welsh Ministers.  This will make it easier for the Welsh Ministers to maintain the current arrangements under which the four Welsh archaeological trusts successfully administer the HERs.  The Welsh Ministers must issue guidance on how certain public bodies — local authorities, National Park authorities and Natural Resources Wales — should use the HERs when carrying out their functions.

Listed buildings in disrepair — The Assembly unanimously supported a non-government amendment at Stage 3 that will give the Welsh Ministers powers to make regulations to allow local authorities to serve ‘preservation notices’ requiring specified works to listed buildings.  This provides a legislative framework within which detailed provisions can be developed.

Implementation

3. The provisions in the act will be implemented in stages. The following provisions came into force on 21 May 2016, two months after the legislation received Royal Assent.

4. Other provisions will not come into effect until the Welsh Ministers formally commence them by order. Some provisions will require supplementary secondary legislation, including:

5. Other provisions in the Act will need non-legislative preparations before they can be brought into force. These will involve:

Consultations

6. Consultation on the revised historic environment chapter (chapter 6) of Planning Policy Wales closed on the 13 June 2016. Planning Division are currently analysing the consultation responses and considering what changes are needed to the text. The intention is to publish the chapter in the autumn of this year.
7. Cadw is planning a series of consultations during 2016 and early 2017 on secondary legislation and best-practice documents intended to support the Act. The first twelve-week consultation will start during the week of the 11 July and cover:

• Regulations to set the interest rate for costs from urgent works to listed buildings;
• Procedures for compensation associated with temporary stop notices;
• Requirement for a heritage impact statement as part of historic asset consent applications and associated guidance;
• Simplification of the scheduled monument consent procedures;
• Guidance — Managing Change to Listed Buildings in Wales;
• Guidance — Managing Change in World Heritage Sites in Wales;
• Guidance — Managing Conservation Areas in Wales; and
• Guidance — Managing Lists of Historic Assets of Special Local Interest in Wales.
• Guidance — Setting of Historic Assets in Wales (how the setting of historic assets in Wales should be considered when assessing the potential impact of development or land management proposals).

8. In addition, Planning Division’s consultation on ‘Technical Advice Note 24: The Historic Environment’ will run in tandem with the Cadw consultation.

Other Best-practice Guidance Documents in preparation

9. The guidance documents identified below are also in preparation with a view to issuing them for consultation during 2016 and 2017.

• Managing Historic Character in Wales

This guidance will explain why it is important to recognise historic character in conservation, regeneration and planning work. . It will complement Managing Lists of Historic Assets of Special Local Interest in Wales.

• Managing Change to Registered Historic Parks and Gardens in Wales

Aimed at owners, managers and planners, this guidance will explain the roles and responsibilities of all partners who have a role to play in the management of registered historic parks and gardens. This will assist implementation of the Act’s measure to introduce a statutory register.

• Managing Historic Buildings at Risk

Aimed at local planning authorities, this will be a best-practice guide to using existing and new provisions for tackling historic buildings at risk.

• Historic Environment Records in Wales — Statutory Guidance for Public Bodies

This will reflect the powers in the Act, which place a duty on the Welsh Ministers to compile and keep up to date a historic environment record (HER) for each local authority area in Wales. It will advise public bodies how to use HERs in Wales in the exercise of their functions. 

• Managing Change to Scheduled Monuments in Wales

Aimed principally at owners and agents, this guidance will set out general principles to consider when making changes to scheduled monuments and explain how to apply for scheduled monument consent, including the roles and responsibilities of owners and Cadw.

• Heritage Partnership Agreements in Wales

Heritage partnership agreements aim to bring owners, consenting authorities and other interested parties together to create long-term management plans for historic assets and their settings. The agreements will cover agreed work programs and incorporate scheduled monument and/or listed building consents. Intended for both both owners and decision-making authorities, this guidance will explain the benefits and practicalities of setting up heritage partnership agreements.

Preservation Notices

10. Section 31 of the Act, Preservation of listed buildings in disrepair’ allows Welsh Ministers to make regulations setting out further steps that local authorities in Wales may take to secure the proper preservation of listed buildings that have fallen into disrepair. The Act allows the regulations to make provision for:

• the service of preservation notice specifying the works that the owner of a listed building in disrepair must execute to secure the proper preservation of the building and a deadline for the completion of works;
• a system of appeals against preservation notices;
• offences for failure to comply with preservation notices; and
• appeals in respect of such offences.

The Act also allows for civil sanctions for offences associated with preservation notices.

11. Whilst the Act provides the basic legal framework for preservation notices, the details of the regulations remain to be worked out. He aim is to gather evidence, including perhaps commissioned research, to inform the development of options during the coming months. Once the proposals are developed, public consultation will take place before the secondary legislation is introduced into the National Assembly for Wales.

Law Commission scoping report on planning law in Wales

12. The Law Commission launched a consultation on the 30 June 2016 on a scoping report to inform the Planning Law project they are undertaking for the Welsh Government. The aim is to consolidate and simplify planning legislation in Wales. The proposals — especially those in chapter 6 which propose to amalgamate the listed building and conservation area consent regimes with planning permission — will be of particular interest because of their potential impact on the management of the historic environment. This is not a Welsh Government consultation.

13. The consultation will close on 30 September 2016 and the documents are available on the Law Commission’s website (http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/planning-law-in-wales/). 

For Cadw see the website