The first Wales-only legislation to help improve the protection and management of the country’s historic environment has been passed by the National Assembly and welcomed by the IHBC while Royal Assent is expected soon.
Main changes to the Bill since its introduction are:
- Historic place names: Welsh Ministers have a duty to compile and maintain a list of historic place names
- Historic environment records (HERs): The duty to compile and keep up to date the HERs is placed on the Welsh Ministers, rather than local planning authorities
- Preservation notices: Plans to impose financial penalties on owners who deliberately neglect their listed buildings have been amended to allow the Welsh Ministers to introduce such a system at a later date. Prior to introducing any regulations, detailed research, evidence gathering and analysis, and consultation will be required to inform an effective package of measures that will support the conservation of listed buildings into the future.
IHBC Past President Trefor Thorpe said: ‘The passing of this new new piece of legislation, the first significant amendment and partial reworking of previous laws in the UK in many years, is a remarkable achievement for Wales.
Cadw/Welsh Government deserve congratulations, not just for getting to this stage but for the broad consultation and collaboration both within and without the sector throughout the long gestation and development process, coupled with regular e-bulletins keeping everyone informed regarding progress. I am delighted that the Deputy Minister has given assurances that this level of openness will be maintained as they press forward with the associate comprehensive suite of complementary guidance and regulation in the coming year.’
‘The new measures and sharper teeth contained in the Act will undoubtedly prove a challenge for the sector to deliver given the current level and continue decline in resources but we in the IHBC will do all we can, I feel sure, to continue to collaborate proactively and positively with Welsh Government to develop appropriate and effective coping strategies.’
‘Subject to Royal Assent, expected in a few weeks, the historic environment in Wales now has a fine new tool to better enable and ensure its protection for the future. We have to make it work.’
The Welsh Government writes:
When it becomes law, the Historic Environment (Wales) Bill will introduce new measures to protect Wales’ historic environment. It will make it more difficult for individuals who damage protected monuments to escape prosecution by pleading ignorance of a monument’s status or location.
It will also introduce new powers to take urgent action to stop unauthorised work to historic sites and to prevent historic buildings from falling into disrepair. For example, it will allow the development of a system of preservation notices and will give local authorities new ways to recover their costs when they have to take direct action.
Once the Bill is law, Wales will also become the first country in the UK to put historic environment records on a statutory footing – a measure that stakeholder groups having been calling for across the UK. These records allow advice on decisions by planning authorities and land managers to be based on sound information. This stands in sharp contrast to the crisis that, many argue, is confronting archaeological services across England as local authorities are forced to make wide-ranging cuts. The records will also provide access to the new list of historic place names in Wales – another first for Wales.
Welcoming the passing of the landmark Bill by the National Assembly, the Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates, said:
‘Wales’ rich historic environment extends beyond our well-known ancient monuments and historic buildings. It also includes historic parks and gardens and our country’s great legacy of historic place names, both of which will, for the first time, be placed on statutory registers. Our heritage tells the fascinating story of our past; it brings social and cultural benefits; and it makes a significant contribution to our economy through tourism. It is something that people really care about. We often see anger and concern when people are made aware of the deliberate neglect of a listed building or the careless destruction of a scheduled monument.
‘The Bill has been the result of extensive conversations with heritage professionals, voluntary organisations and the public. This gave us a clear idea of the challenges and the need for effective and flexible mechanisms for how we manage change. I am proud that in passing this Bill we are giving greater protection to our historic environment, raising awareness of its significance and supporting its sustainable management. Our outstanding historic sites and buildings need this protection so that they can continue to fascinate and inspire people for generations to come.’
The Bill will also simplify some of the systems in place for the management of scheduled monuments and listed buildings by allowing owners to enter into voluntary heritage partnership agreements with consenting authorities.
It will also:
- Create an independent panel to provide the Welsh Ministers with expert advice on policy and strategy;
- Introduce formal consultation with owners of buildings or monuments before a decision to protect them is made;
- Extend the definition of what can be protected as an ancient monument to include some battlefield sites and prehistoric settlements.
Justin Albert, National Trust Director for Wales said: ‘We are an exceptionally proud custodian of some of Wales’s most iconic historic environments. Protecting our national treasures on a statutory basis is to be welcomed and secures them as places of wonder and enjoyment for everyone for generations to come. The whole heritage sector has participated in developing this legislation which we feel can bring great benefits in delivering a growing and vibrant tourist industry and jobs, skills and resources for all of us in Wales. Sustaining and enhancing our historic environment will undoubtedly show the world what a proud, caring and forward-thinking country we are – a country that people will be eager to visit and share with us.’
Alongside the Bill, new policy, advice and guidance will be published following consultation. It complements goals set out in the recently passed Environment (Wales) Bill, the Planning (Wales) Act and the Well-being of Future Generations Act. The Bill will become an Act when it receives Royal Assent in March 2016.
Additional information
- Over 30,000 jobs are supported by our historic environment and it adds around £840 million to the nation’s economy, accounting for one-fifth of total tourism expenditure in Wales.
- No case underlines more clearly how precious and vulnerable the historic environment is than the serious damage done to a well-preserved section of the 1,200 year old Offa’s Dyke in 2013. Cases such as this demonstrate how well-known monuments that have survived centuries can be lost almost overnight.
- There were 119 cases of damage to scheduled monuments recorded between 2006–2012, with only one successful prosecution.
Historic Environment (Wales) Bill
An important milestone was reached on Tuesday of this week, 9 February 2016. The Historic Environment (Wales) Bill reached the fourth, and final, stage in its passage through the Assembly and the final legislation was approved by a vote in the Senedd.
The Bill will now enter a four-week period during which it could be referred to the Supreme Court. It is expected that the Bill will gain Royal Assent and become law in mid-March.
The main changes to the Bill since its introduction are:
- Historic place names
The Bill was amended at Stage 2 to place a duty on the Welsh Ministers to compile and maintain a list of historic place names. The list will be publicly available via the historic environment records. The intention is that the Royal Commission will compile and keep up to date the list, using information from sources such as Cymru1900 Wales (http://www.cymru1900wales.org/).
- Historic environment records (HERs)
During Stage 3, the Bill was amended to place the duty to compile and keep up to date the HERs on the Welsh Ministers, rather than local planning authorities. It also now includes a requirement for the Welsh Ministers to issue guidance on how the HERs should be used by certain public bodies in the exercise of their functions — for example, by local authorities when considering proposals to change property names or making planning determinations, or by Natural Resources Wales when developing strategies relating to forestry management or flood alleviation. Local planning authorities will still have an important role in the compilation and enhancement of the HERs and will continue to use them regularly in the exercise of their functions. The intention is that the Welsh archaeological trusts will continue to maintain the HERs on the Welsh Ministers’ behalf.
During Stages 1 and 2, the Deputy Minister undertook to investigate the feasibility of imposing financial penalties on owners who deliberately neglect their listed buildings. Peter Black tabled an amendment at Stage 3 that would provide a framework to allow the Welsh Ministers to introduce such a system at a later date. The amendment allows for the detail of any such system to be set out in regulations. The amendment had cross-party support during Stage 3. Prior to introducing any regulations, detailed research, evidence gathering and analysis, and consultation will be required to inform an effective package of measures that will support the conservation of listed buildings into the future.
There were a number of additional, mostly technical, amendments made during both Stages 2 and 3. Once the Bill has received Royal Assent it will be available, alongside updated Explanatory Notes, on http://www.legislation.gov.uk/
Implementation Plan
The passage of the Bill is not the end of the story and 2016/2017 looks as though it is going to be just as busy with the implementation of the new legislation and the introduction of the complementary suite of policy, advice and guidance.
Historic Environment (Wales) Bill implementation.
Some of the Bill’s provisions will come into force 2 months after it receives Royal Assent. In the main, these are the provisions that do not require regulations to supplement the provisions in the Bill. For example:
- Sections 6–9 Changes to the scheduled monument consent procedures;
- Sections 12–14 Scheduled monument enforcement and temporary stop Notices;
- Sections 15–17 Control of works to scheduled monuments and damage to certain monuments;
- Section 22 Definition of a monument;
- Section 27 Certificate of immunity from listing;
- Section 29 Temporary stop notices for listed buildings; and
- Section 30(1) to (5) Amendments to the urgent works provisions.
Other provisions will require an order or regulations to be made before they can come into force. The timetable for the commencement of these provisions is yet to be determined.
Amongst the regulations required by the Bill are those relating to:
- Heritage partnership agreements;
- Reviews of decisions to designate;
- Simplification of the scheduled monument consent process; and
- Interest rates on costs of urgent works.
Consultations will need to be undertaken on the policy intentions for all of these supplementary regulations. The intention is to dovetail these consultations, as far as possible, with those that will be undertaken on tranche 2 and 3 of the guidance documents identified below.
Further work will be required to implement other aspects of the Bill. This includes:
- Establishment of the advisory panel, including the appointment process, terms of reference and development of a work programme;
- Creation of the list of historic place names; and
- Review of the entries on the register of historic parks and gardens.
- Formalising the arrangements for statutory HERs and preparing draft guidance on their use prior to consultation.
Research and evidence gathering will also be undertaken to inform the development of the regulations required to implement the new provisions in the Bill on preservation notices.
Policy, advice and guidance
The drafts of the revised historic environment chapter of Planning Policy Wales and Technical Advice Note 24 — Historic Environment are being reviewed to take account of changes to the Bill and comments made during the scrutiny process. Since the elections for the National Assembly for Wales will be held in May, the consultation on these documents will not take place until after a new Government has been formed. Indeed this will all be subject to change depending on the priorities of the incoming administration.
In addition to those planning documents, three tranches of guidance are being prepared.
The first tranche is likely to be consulted upon around the same time as the planning documents. It is planned that it will include:
- Managing Change in World Heritage Sites in Wales,
- Managing Conservation Areas in Wales,
- Managing Change to Listed Buildings in Wales,
- Managing Change to the Setting of a Historic Asset in Wales, and
- Heritage Impact Assessments in Wales.
The second tranche will be consulted upon around autumn 2016. It is likely to include:
- Historic Environment Records,
- Managing Lists of Historic Assets of Special Local Interest in Wales,
- Managing Buildings at Risk in Wales,
- Managing Change to Registered Parks and Gardens in Wales, and
- Managing Historic Character in Wales.
The third tranche will be consulted on towards the end of 2016 or in early 2017. It is likely to include:
- Heritage Partnership Agreements,
- Understanding and Managing the Marine Historic Environment,
- Managing Change to Scheduled Monuments
- Understanding Listing,
- Managing Historic Landscapes.
Communication
To complement the implementation work, a communication strategy is being developed. This will assist the Welsh Government in disseminating information on the changes in the Bill and accompanying policy, advice and guidance to key stakeholders, owners and occupiers and others who may be interested or affected by the Bill.
The Bill, as passed, is available on the National Assembly for Wales website
View the Welsh Government press release
Read more at Planning Portal
Booking is now open for the conservation professional’s key annual training and CPD event: the IHBC’s Annual and Day School, this year in Worcester from 23-25 June and exploring ‘People Power! – Catalyst for change’, with early bird booking rates to end on 22 April. 
