Heritage Statement structure for a non-designated asset

A heritage statement for a non-designated heritage asset has one job: to show the case officer what is significant about the building, then to show what your proposal does to that significance. Six sections, in that order, is enough for most householder schemes. The statutory duties that apply to listed buildings do not apply here, so the argument is made on evidence and design rather than on policy tests.

Most statements that come back with a request for further information have the same fault. They describe the proposal in detail and the building in a sentence.

Section one: the asset and why it is identified

Open by saying what the building is, where it is, and on what basis it is treated as a heritage asset.

If it is on the council's local list, quote the entry and give its reference. If it was identified during a previous application or appears in a conservation area appraisal, say so and cite the document. If you are not sure whether the council treats it as an asset, write the statement as though it does, because the alternative is discovering the point at week six.

Three or four paragraphs. Include the address, the approximate date of construction with the evidence for it, the current use, and a note of any designations nearby that the building relates to, such as an adjoining listed building or a conservation area boundary.

Section two: the evidence you used

Short, and more useful than it looks. List where your understanding of the building came from, with dates.

• The local list entry or historic environment record entry, with reference numbers
• Historic Ordnance Survey mapping, naming the editions consulted
• Any conservation area appraisal covering the area
• Census returns, trade directories or deeds where the building's history matters
• A site inspection, with its date
• Any earlier reports on the building

Naming your sources does two things. It lets the conservation officer check a point without emailing you, and it signals that the assessment rests on research rather than on a walk past the front elevation.

Section three: describing significance without a list entry

This is the heart of the document and the part worth spending time on.

For a non-designated asset there is no official description to lean on, so build one. Work through the building in a consistent order: setting and plot, then exterior by elevation, then roof and chimneys, then interior where the proposal affects it, then boundary treatments and outbuildings.

For each element, say what it is, when it dates from, and whether it contributes to significance. Be willing to say that parts do not. A 1980s conservatory on the rear of a Victorian villa has no heritage value, and saying so plainly makes the rest of your assessment more credible.

Two frameworks are in common use and either is acceptable. The first describes architectural, historic, archaeological and artistic interest. The second, used in national heritage guidance, describes evidential, historical, aesthetic and communal value. Pick one, say which you are using, and apply it consistently.

Finish the section with a short statement of what the significance of the building consists of, in two or three sentences. If you cannot write those sentences, the assessment is not finished.

Section four: the balanced judgement national policy sets

State the policy position briefly and accurately. National policy requires the effect of an application on the significance of a non-designated heritage asset to be taken into account, and a balanced judgement to be made having regard to the scale of any harm or loss and the significance of the asset.

That is the whole test. There is no separate consent, no statutory duty and no presumption in favour of conservation, though local plan policies may add their own requirements, so check the development plan and quote the relevant policy by number.

Two or three paragraphs is plenty. Officers know the policy. What they want to see is that you know which test applies to your building rather than the one that applies to listed buildings.

Section five: assessing the effect

Take the proposal element by element and assess each against the significance you described. A table works well here, and it stops the assessment collapsing into a single verdict about the scheme as a whole.

Then write two or three paragraphs explaining the entries that involve harm, and one drawing the balance. Where the proposal produces benefits to the asset, say so, because benefits to significance carry real weight in the balance rather than being merely presentational.

Avoid inflating language in either direction. An officer reading that a two metre extension causes no harm whatsoever to a building it is attached to will discount the rest of the document.

Section six: design responses and mitigation

Close with what the design does to reduce harm, described as decisions rather than as features.

Useful moves on a householder scheme: keeping the new work subordinate in height and set back from the principal elevation, matching the mortar rather than the brick, reusing materials taken out, keeping the original window openings legible where a rear wall is opened up, and leaving chimney stacks in place.

Where fabric will be lost, offer a record. For a non-designated asset a proportionate written and photographic record, deposited with the historic environment record, is usually enough, and the guidance on historic building recording sets out the levels of detail available. Offering it in the statement is better than having it imposed as a condition you had not costed.

An illustrative example. A locally listed former bakery with a rear yard: the proposal removed a lean-to store of no interest, retained the flue and the loading door in situ within a new kitchen, and recorded the internal ovens before they were taken out. The officer's report used the applicant's own table of effects.

Photographs, drawings and length

Include photographs keyed to a plan, numbered, dated and captioned to say what each shows. Six to twelve is usually right for a householder scheme. Existing and proposed drawings belong with the application rather than inside the statement, though cross-referring to drawing numbers in the assessment table keeps everything tied together.

For length, five to eight pages covers a typical extension or alteration. A demolition proposal needs more, and it needs documentary research rather than a longer description.

If the application also requires a Design and Access Statement, write the two documents together so they tell the same story. And if you would rather start from a structured draft than a blank page, a Heritage Statement is one of the report types PlanScope drafts, alongside all 66 report types covering the rest of an application.

This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.

To see which supporting documents your project needs, enter your postcode on PlanScope and answer the guided questions.

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