Heritage assets – from listed buildings to historic parks – are a vital part of England’s cultural identity. The planning system recognises their significance and puts in place specific protections to ensure development conserves, and where possible enhances, their value. When submitting a planning application, heritage is considered through a structured policy and legislative framework and can in some cases be a determinative matter.
Legislative Framework
The principal legal provisions are set out in:
• Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 – requiring special regard to preserving listed buildings, their settings, and the character or appearance of conservation areas.
• Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 – protecting scheduled monuments.
• National Planning Policy Framework 2024 (NPPF/the Framework) – particularly Section 16, which sets out how heritage assets should be conserved in a manner appropriate to their significance.
Under these laws and policies, decision-makers must give “great weight” to an asset’s conservation, irrespective of the scale of harm proposed. This means, for example, that great weight must be given to even “less than substantial” harm.
Types of Heritage Assets
Heritage assets can be designated or non-designated. Designated assets include listed buildings (Grades I, II*, II), scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, conservation areas, and World Heritage Sites. Non-designated assets might include locally listed buildings, archaeological sites, or landscapes of historic interest.
Both types are considered in planning decisions, but designated assets have stronger legal protections. It is important, from the outset, to consider the context of any site in relation to your proposals.
Assessing Significance
The starting point is understanding an asset’s significance – the sum of its historic, architectural, archaeological, and communal values. The Framework defines significance as being derived not only from a heritage asset’s physical presence but also from its setting (albeit it setting is not clearly defined).
Applicants are required to describe the significance of any heritage assets affected by their proposals. This is usually done through a Heritage Statement or Heritage Impact Assessment, which identifies the asset(s) affected, describes their significance and setting, explains the impact of the proposed development and sets out mitigation or enhancement measures. Applications which have heritage implications will not be validated without the appropriate supporting information.
The Role of Setting
Setting refers to the surroundings in which a heritage asset is experienced. It can include views to and from the asset, its relationship with other features, and the wider landscape. Even changes outside a conservation area or away from a listed building can cause harm if they affect how the asset is perceived or experienced by users. Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) stresses that setting should be assessed on a case-by-case basis, with a proportionate level of detail.
Balancing Harm and Public Benefits
When harm to a heritage asset is identified, the Framework distinguishes between:
• Substantial harm – requires clear and convincing justification and is only permitted in exceptional (for Grade II) or wholly exceptional (for Grade I/II* and World Heritage Sites) circumstances, and;
• Less than substantial harm – must be weighed against the public benefits of the proposal.
Public benefits might include securing the long-term use of a heritage asset, delivering housing, or improving public access to historic sites. However, the “great weight” given to conservation means that even minor harm must be justified. The PPH notes that ‘public benefits’ do not always have to be visible or accessible to the public in order to be genuine public benefits, for example, works to a listed private dwelling which secure its future as a designated heritage asset could be a public benefit. This is a point which, in our view, is often overlooked by Councils.
Consultation
Local planning authorities often consult Conservation officers for advice on design, materials, and impact. Historic England is consulted for significant or nationally important schemes and archaeological services are consulted where ground disturbance could reveal (or damage/destroy) historic remains.
Good heritage-led design seeks to retain significant features, use appropriate materials and detailing, respect historic layouts and patterns and enhance, rather than compete with, existing character. Adaptive reuse of historic buildings – converting them for new uses while retaining key elements – is often a preferred approach.
Conclusion
In England, heritage considerations are integral to planning decisions. Applications must identify affected heritage assets, assess their significance, and demonstrate how proposals will conserve or enhance them. By addressing heritage at an early stage and aligning with national policy and legislation, developers can protect valued historic environments while still achieving viable, well-designed schemes. We work with a number of heritage/archaeological consultants to support proposals which could affect heritage assets to ensure that proposals have the best chance of success.