New Local Plan - Issues & Options (Regulation 18)
16. Heritage Assets and the Historic Environment
16.1 National planning policy defines the historic environment as all aspects of the environment resulting from the interaction between people and places through time, including all surviving physical remains of past human activity, whether visible, buried or submerged, and landscaped and planted or managed flora. The District has a rich and varied historic environment which helps us to understand the past. It is evident in the buildings and spaces and through the stories of the people who lived and worked in them. The historic environment has wider environmental, social cultural and economic benefits. It helps define an area, create a sense of place and serves as a focal point for civic pride, tourism and inward investment. Careful management of the historic environment is necessary to ensure that its importance is recognised and that it can continue to contribute to the on-going evolution of the District.
16.2 Heritage assets are part of the environment that are valued for their architectural, historic archaeological and artistic interest. They range from sites and buildings of local historic value to those of the highest significance. Within the District there is a significant number of heritage assets, both designated and non-designated which are a key part of its character. These include 65 scheduled monuments, 6 registered parks and gardens, 1284 listed buildings, 62 designated conservation areas and the Grand Union Canal in the area has also been separately designated as a Conservation Area. In addition, there are non-designated heritage assets identified through the neighbourhood planning process and through the District-wide Local List of non-designated heritage assets and there are entries on the Historic Environment Record. All these assets are an irreplaceable resource and should be conserved in a manner appropriate to their significance, so that they can be enjoyed for their contribution to the quality of life of existing and future generations.
16.3 Conserving the historic environment is the process of maintaining and managing change to a heritage asset in a way that sustains and, where appropriate, enhances its significance. The Local Plan will achieve this through policies which:
- Protect and enhance nationally and locally listed buildings and other identified heritage assets, including the protection and enhancement of key views.
- In addition to the national and local planning policies, where the Council identifies a particular risk to a heritage asset it can consider applying an Article 4 direction. (Article 4 directions are a tool available to the Council which can be used to withdraw permitted development rights from a heritage asset where it is considered necessary in order to safeguard its special architectural or historic interest).
- Achieve creative re-use of heritage assets, so that they continue to contribute to the unique character of their location.
- Encourage all development to contribute to the unique character of the area by protecting and enhancing existing heritage assets. All development should the celebrate the local distinctiveness of its location and create memorable places that are visually attractive and offer a unique experience to its users.
Heritage Assets and the Historic Environment