Issues and Options

We include some details advice in respect of the historic environment and Local Plans for consideration in the preparation of the forthcoming Plan. In particular, we have produced a number of detailed Good Practice Advice and Advice Note documents. We recommend that you review the following as part of your plan preparation process: The Historic Environment in Local Plan - Good Practice Advice in Planning 1 https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/gpa1-historic-environmentlocal- plans/ The Setting of Heritage Assets 2nd ed. - Good Practice Advice in Planning 3 https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/gpa3-setting-of-heritageassets/ The Historic Environment and Site Allocations and Local Plans - Advice Note 3 https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/historic-environment-andsite- allocations-in-local-plans/ It is important to note that the historic environment encompasses more than only streets and buildings. It includes designated heritage assets such as listed buildings, conservation areas, Registered Parks and Gardens and scheduled monuments as well as non-designated heritage assets such as local listed buildings, sites of Historic England, Brooklands, 24 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge CB2 8BU Telephone 01223 58 2749 HistoricEngland.org.uk Please note that Historic England operates an access to information policy. Correspondence or information which you send us may therefore become publicly available. archaeological importance, local green spaces, and undiscovered/unknown heritage assets. It also includes less tangible aspects of cultural heritage which contribute to local traditions and sense of place. We expect to see appropriate references to setting in policies. Although setting itself is not a designated heritage asset, it can be a key aspect of a heritage asset’s significance. As with assessing the impact of site allocations on setting, with a site specific allocation, it is important to understand the significance of any heritage asset/s, and their setting/s, that would be affected by the site allocation in order for the policy to reflect these considerations. This involves more than identifying known heritage assets within a given distance, but rather a more holistic process which seeks to understand their significance and value. Whilst a useful starting point, a focus on distance or visibility alone as a gauge is not appropriate. Site allocations which include a heritage asset (for example a site within a Conservation Area) may offer opportunities for enhancement and tackling heritage at risk, while conversely, an allocation at a considerable distance away from a heritage asset may cause harm to its significance, reducing the suitability of the site allocation in sustainable development terms. We would expect to see this reflected in the policy wording and supporting text. The forthcoming Local Plan should recognise the interrelationship between the historic environment and landscape. It would be helpful however to acknowledge that the landscape itself constitutes part of the historic environment and is not a separate entity to it. The position of hedgerows and field markings for example shows how the land was used in the past, and the position and siting of access points, tracks and footpaths often indicate the historical way people would access and travel through the landscape. These features can be a powerful visual remnant of more rural heritage and traditions. The layout of the landscape, its undulations and wider views can have historic significance as well as landscape significance so it is important to acknowledge this in the Plan. The east of England is rich in the designed landscapes of parks and gardens, and the built and natural environments they contain; these are as important to national and indeed international culture as our buildings. The conservation and enhancement of the historic environment can bring a range of multi-faceted benefits which can help achieve spatial planning goals. Recognising the role the historic environment has to play in creating locally distinct places can help improve economic prospects for places within the Plan area through tourism for example or heritage-led regeneration. It can help improve well-being for local residents, and promotes an understanding of local history and identity. It is important to see the opportunities that some developments may have in enhancing the historic environment through public realm improvement, allowing public access or better revealing significance. A coordinated appreciation of the historic environment which Historic England, Brooklands, 24 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge CB2 8BU Telephone 01223 58 2749 HistoricEngland.org.uk Please note that Historic England operates an access to information policy. Correspondence or information which you send us may therefore become publicly available. addresses both the heritage assets themselves and their setting will reinforce their integrity and therefore will help ensure that historic places and spaces continue to provide long term public benefits. An integrated approach to policy preparation which recognises the social, economic and environmental dimensions of the historic environment and which seek to conserve this irreplaceable resource maximise the effect heritage assets can have. It is advised that the forthcoming Local Plan address non-designated heritage assets such as locally listed buildings. The Local Plan should also address Heritage at Risk both on the National Register and on the local register. Robust provision for these heritage assets will increase the soundness of your forthcoming plan. The Local Plan should be locally specific to Bedford Borough. It should reference the types of heritage assets which make up the stock of designated and non-designated assets within the Plan area. It would be helpful to describe the types and nature of settlements which characterise the area. These vary between the towns and villages within the District. At the Strategic level, the Plan should recognise the irreplaceable nature of the historic environment and heritage assets, it should convey the importance of the historic environment and how it helps creates a sense of local distinctiveness and contributes towards the creation of high quality places that people want to live and work in. The need to conserve or enhance the historic environment should be referred to explicitly. It is recommended that any forthcoming historic environment policies reference to how proposals should address technical archaeological matters. We recommend the inclusion of a focused section or chapter within the forthcoming Local Plan on the landscape, heritage and design. We recommend that you include a policy for tall buildings, based on a tall buildings study which sets out an appropriate strategy and policy criteria as well as areas where taller buildings may or may not be appropriate. See our advice note 4 for further guidance in this regard. A positive strategy for the Historic Environment Paragraph 185 of the NPPF requires Local Plans to set out a positive and clear strategy for the conservation, enjoyment and enhancement of the historic environment. Ideally the strategy should offer a strategic overview including overarching heritage policies to deliver the conservation and enhancement of the environment. Historic England, Brooklands, 24 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge CB2 8BU Telephone 01223 58 2749 HistoricEngland.org.uk Please note that Historic England operates an access to information policy. Correspondence or information which you send us may therefore become publicly available. A good strategy will offer a positive holistic approach throughout the whole plan whereby the historic environment is considered not just as a stand-alone topic but as an integral part of every aspect of the plan, being interwoven within the entire document. So policies for housing, retail, and transport for example may need to be tailored to achieve the positive improvements that paragraph 8 of the NPPF demands. Site allocations may need to refer to the historic environment, identifying opportunities to conserve and enhance the historic environment, avoid harming heritage assets and their settings and may also be able to positively address heritage assets at risk. The plan may need to include areas identified as being inappropriate for certain types of development due to the impact they would have on the historic environment. A good strategy will also be spatially specific, unique to the area, describing the local characteristics of the borough and responding accordingly with policies that address the local situation. We would expect references to the historic environment in the local plan vision, the inclusion of a policy/ies for the historic environment and character of the landscape and built environment, and various other references to the historic environment through the plan relating to the unique characteristics of the area. Evidence base For a local plan we would expect to see a comprehensive and robust evidence base for the historic environment. Any evidence base should be proportionate. Sources include: National Heritage List for England. www.historicengland.org.uk/the-list/ Heritage Gateway. www.heritagegateway.org.uk Historic Environment Record. National and local heritage at risk registers. www.historicengland.org.uk/advice/heritage-at-risk Non-designated or locally listed heritage assets (buildings, monuments, parks and gardens, areas) Conservation area appraisals and management plans Historic characterisation assessments e.g. the Extensive Urban Surveys and Historic Landscape Characterisation Programme or more local documents. www.archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/EUS/ Environmental capacity studies for historic towns and cities or for historic areas e.g. the Craven Conservation Areas Assessment Project. www.cravendc.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=11207&p=0 Detailed historic characterization work assessing impact of specific proposals. Heritage Impact Assessments looking into significance and setting. Historic England, Brooklands, 24 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge CB2 8BU Telephone 01223 58 2749 HistoricEngland.org.uk Please note that Historic England operates an access to information policy. Correspondence or information which you send us may therefore become publicly available. Green Belt studies where appropriate. Visual impact assessments. Archaeological assessments. Topic papers Non-designated Heritage Assets In national policy terms, ‘non-designated heritage assets’ (including those on a local list) are recognised as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions. Paragraph 197 of the National Planning Policy Framework states that decisions on applications affecting such assets will require a balanced judgment that has regard to the significance of the asset and any harm or loss: http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/blog/policy/achieving-sustainabledevelopment/ delivering-sustainable-development/12-conserving-and-enhancing-thehistoric- environment/ Government guidance recognises that local lists and local criteria for identifying nondesignated heritage assets are a positive thing and can help with decision-making: http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/blog/guidance/conserving-andenhancing- the-historic-environment/what-are-non-designated-heritage-assets-andhow- important-are-they/ We would recommend that as a minimum a local authority has established criteria for identifying non-designated heritage assets, and ideally has a local list of assets linked to planning policies in their Local Plan. A good example is Peterborough: http://www2.peterborough.gov.uk/environment/listed_buildings/locally_listed_building s.aspx There are enough appeal cases to indicate that inspectors regard non-designated heritage assets, and something on a local list, as an important material consideration in planning decisions. In fact, where there isn’t a local list, some inspectors have been unable to give as much weight to a non-designated heritage asset. Our website contains a number of appeal cases and if you search for ‘locally listed heritage asset’ or ‘non-designated heritage asset’, you will get relevant ones: http://www.historicengland.org.uk/advice/hpg/planning-cases/ Robust provision for these heritage assets will increase the soundness of your forthcoming plan. Historic England, Brooklands, 24 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge CB2 8BU Telephone 01223 58 2749 HistoricEngland.org.uk Please note that Historic England operates an access to information policy. Correspondence or information which you send us may therefore become publicly available. General comments on historic environment policy wording, including for site allocations It is important that policies include sufficient information regarding criteria for development. Paragraph 16d of the NPPF states that policies should provide a clear indication of how a decision maker should react to a development proposal. To that end we make the following suggestions for consideration when drafting site allocation policies. a) The policy and supporting text should refer to the designated assets and their settings both on site and nearby. By using the word ‘including’ this avoids the risk of missing any assets off the list. b) The policy should use the appropriate wording from the list below depending on the type of asset e.g. conservation area or listed building or combination of heritage assets c) The policy and supporting text should refer to specific appropriate mitigation measures e.g. landscaping or careful design or maintaining key views or buffer/set back/breathing space etc. d) The NPPF is very clear on the importance of setting of all assets – further advice about settings is given in our advice note and also in the PPG. However, settings are not protected in and of themselves. It is the harm to significance that may be caused by development within the setting of an asset which is key. Try to work this into the policy or at least supporting text. e) The NPPF uses the words ‘conserve and enhance’ and ‘sustain and enhance’. f) PPG explains in more detail what is meant by conservation and enhancement of the historic environment. Here the wording is ‘conserved and where appropriate enhanced. g) The NPPF is newer than the legislation. h) Local Plans need to be consistent with the policies in the Framework Where a site has the potential to affect a heritage asset, we would expect to see the following typical wording within the policy: combination of heritage assets - ‘Development should conserve/sustain or where appropriate enhance the significance of heritage assets (noting that significance may be harmed by development within the setting of an asset).’ This is based on the wording in the NPPF and Planning Practice Guidance Paragraph: 002 Reference ID: 18a-002-20190723 Revision date: 23 07 2019 Historic England, Brooklands, 24 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge CB2 8BU Telephone 01223 58 2749 HistoricEngland.org.uk Please note that Historic England operates an access to information policy. Correspondence or information which you send us may therefore become publicly available. listed building ‘Development should preserve the significance of the listed building (noting that significance may be harmed by development within the setting of an asset).’. This is based on the wording in Part 1, Chapter 1, paragraph 1 (3) (b) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. conservation area ‘Development should preserve, or where opportunities arise, enhance the character or appearance of the Conservation Area and its setting’. This is based on the wording in Part 2, paragraph 69 (a) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and paragraph 200 of the NPPF. Note that if you refer to character …appearance, use the word ‘or’ not ‘and’ registered park and garden -‘Development should conserve or enhance the significance of the registered park and garden assets (noting that significance may be harmed by development within the setting of an asset).’ scheduled monument ‘Development should conserve or enhance the significance of the scheduled monument (noting that significance may be harmed by development within the setting of an asset).’ Or instead of the words in brackets you could add the following sentence ‘This includes any contribution made to its significance by its setting.’ Heritage Impact Assessments In order to help refine which growth allocations to take forward, we would suggest that a Heritage Impact Assessment is undertaken of each of these sites. This should be proportionate (both to the scale of the site and the assets affected). Again, we would refer you to our Advice Note 3 ‘The Historic Environment and Site Allocations in Local Plans. All potential sites will need to be appraised against potential historic environment impacts. It is imperative to have this robust evidence base in place to ensure the soundness of the Plan. We recommend that the appraisal approach should avoid merely limiting assessment of impact on a heritage asset to its distance from, or inter-visibility with, a potential site. Site allocations which include a heritage asset (for example a site within a Conservation Area) may offer opportunities for enhancement and tackling heritage at risk, while conversely, an allocation at a considerable distance away from a heritage asset may cause harm to its significance, rendering the site unsuitable. Impacts on significance are not just based on distance or visual Historic England, Brooklands, 24 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge CB2 8BU Telephone 01223 58 2749 HistoricEngland.org.uk Please note that Historic England operates an access to information policy. Correspondence or information which you send us may therefore become publicly available. impacts, and assessment requires a careful judgment based on site visits and the available evidence base. Cumulative effects of site options on the historic environment should be considered too. The following broad steps might be of assistance in terms of assessing sites: • Identify the heritage assets on or within the vicinity of the potential site allocation at an appropriate scale • Assess the contribution of the site to the significance of heritage assets on or within its vicinity • Identify the potential impacts of development upon the significance of heritage asset • Consider how any harm might be removed or reduced, including reasonable alternatives sites • Consider how any enhancements could be achieved and maximised • Consider and set out the public benefits where harm cannot be removed or reduced The HIAs should assess the suitability of each area for development and the impact on the historic environment. Should the HIA conclude that development in the area could be acceptable and the site be allocated, the findings of the HIA should inform the Local Plan policy including development criteria and a strategy diagram which expresses the development criteria in diagrammatic form. Monitoring We recommend indicators to measure how successful historic environment policies are. These can include preparation of a local list, completion of conservation area action plans and management plans, reduction in the number of assets that are classified as heritage at risk. Glossary Glossaries should include consistent definitions for all heritage assets mentioned in the local plan. These would typically include: Listed Buildings Scheduled Monuments Conservation Areas Registered Parks and Gardens Non-designated heritage assets / Local Heritage Assets / Locally Listed Heritage Assets / Locally Listed Buildings Historic England, Brooklands, 24 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge CB2 8BU Telephone 01223 58 2749 HistoricEngland.org.uk Please note that Historic England operates an access to information policy. Correspondence or information which you send us may therefore become publicly available. Mapping We recommend that designated heritage assets are marked on maps, where appropriate. The White Paper and Planning Reforms In preparing your new Local Plan it will be important to be mindful of the Planning White Paper and Planning reforms and to future proof your evidence and plan in light of this changing situation. Conclusion In preparation of the forthcoming Local Plan we encourage you to draw on the knowledge of local conservation officers, the county archaeologist and local heritage groups. Please note that absence of a comment on an allocation or document in this letter does not mean that Historic England is content that the allocation or document forms part of a positive strategy for the conservation and enjoyment of the historic environment or is devoid of historic environment issues. Where there are various options proposed for a settlement, identification of heritage issues for a particular allocation does not automatically correspond to the support for inclusion of the alternative sites, given we have not been able to assess all of the sites. Finally, we should like to stress that this opinion is based on the information provided by the Council in its consultation. To avoid any doubt, this does not affect our obligation to provide further advice and, potentially, object to specific proposals, which may subsequently arise where we consider that these would have an adverse effect upon the historic environment. We hope that the above comments of assistance.