CBA Welcomes New Planning Policy Statement

Submitted by Dan Hull on Thu, 2009-07-30 12:15
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A draft PPS has been released for consultation which will replace the old PPG15 and 16, and could have a major impact on the management of England’s historic environment in the future.

Draft PPS The draft Planning Policy Statement 15: Planning for the Historic Environment updates the planning policy affecting archaeology, historic areas, buildings and landscapes. Once finalised in early 2010, it will replace the current Planning Policy Guidance Notes PPG15 and 16. This new PPS is accompanied by a draft Historic Environment Planning Practice Guide which provides more detail on how the new principles in the PPS can be applied. The consultation on both documents runs until 30 October.

For further details visit the website of the Department for Communities and Local Government or English Heritage.

A new Circular on World Heritage Sites was also published in July. This gives advice on the level of protection and management needed for World Heritage Sites and draws attention to recent measures designed to enhance the protection of these sites in England.

CBA Director Mike Heyworth welcomed the publication of these key documents:

‘It’s good to see a positive statement of the contribution of the historic environment in the draft PPS. The strong support for local authority historic environment services is also welcome, particularly given the pressures on public sector funding. The CBA will be responding positively to the consultation in the hope that we can maximise the public benefits derived from the management of the historic environment through the planning process.’ Taken together, these documents are a significant step forward.

In Wales, it is expected that parallel reforms to planning policy and guidance will follow next year, while in Scotland changes to primary legislation are in hand.

The CBA remains disappointed, however, that the anticipated heritage protection legislation for England and Wales is not included in the draft UK Government’s programme for 2009–10. Background on the development of heritage protection reform can be found here.