Following revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework, England’s Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) has updated its heritage advice, including areas covered in the IHBC’s joint Conservation Professional Practice Principles’.
MHCLG writes:
Conservation is an active process of maintenance and managing change. It requires a flexible and thoughtful approach to get the best out of assets as diverse as listed buildings in every day use and as yet undiscovered, undesignated buried remains of archaeological interest.
In the case of buildings, generally the risks of neglect and decay of heritage assets are best addressed through ensuring that they remain in active use that is consistent with their conservation. Ensuring such heritage assets remain used and valued is likely to require sympathetic changes to be made from time to time. In the case of archaeological sites, many have no active use, and so for those kinds of sites, periodic changes may not be necessary, though on-going management remains important.
Where changes are proposed, the National Planning Policy Framework sets out a clear framework for both plan-making and decision-making in respect of applications for planning permission and listed building consent to ensure that heritage assets are conserved, and where appropriate enhanced, in a manner that is consistent with their significance and thereby achieving sustainable development…’
See the previous version of the guidance
For more on the NPPF revision see the IHBC NewsBlogs
See the IHBC’s joint Conservation Professional Practice Principles
See more background to the IHBC’s joint Conservation Professional Practice Principles on the IHBC NewsBlogs
To see the practitioners’ context to Conservation Professional Practice Principles follow the links to our ‘Recognised standards and guidelines’ on the IHBC’s Toolbox
