Heritage asset

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A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also use the term in relation to intangible social and spiritual inheritance. [1]

Contents

The term is found in several contexts:

Accounting definition

A tangible asset with historical, artistic, scientific, technological, geophysical or environmental qualities that is held and maintained principally for its contribution to knowledge and culture. [4]

Heritage assets are accounted for as a distinct category because their value is unlikely to be fully reflected in a financial value or price. Many are unique, meaning their value may increase, rather than depreciate, even if their physical condition deteriorates. Also, heritage assets may incur high costs to maintain them and their life might be measured in hundreds of years.

Heritage assets are often described as 'inalienable', because the holder cannot sell or dispose of them without external consent. These restrictions may be formed in law, for example, trust law relating to a charity's governing documents. Some argue that inalienability means that assets held in trust are not actually assets of the organisation that holds them. [5] However, the UK Financial Reporting Council states that inalienable assets meet the definition of an asset because they may be used to generate income (e.g. attracting visitors to a museum) and have service potential.

The UK government publishes a list of heritage assets that are tax exempt. [6]

Planning definition

The term 'heritage asset' is used in the UK to describe a range of geographical components of the historic environment which have been positively identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions.

These include listed buildings; old buildings that are not listed but still have local historical importance; scheduled monuments; war memorials; historic wreck sites; parks; historic gardens; conservation areas, archaeological sites and so on. They also include places and properties that are not formally protected through the designation system, and certain historic landscapes. [7] The term 'heritage asset' is often used as a convenient collective term for all these items.

Not all heritage assets are legally protected through the designation system. UK heritage protection practice also allows for buildings or other assets to be granted a status as a "non-designated heritage asset":

Non-designated heritage assets are buildings, monuments, sites, places, areas or landscapes identified by plan-making bodies as having a degree of heritage significance meriting consideration in planning decisions but which do not meet the criteria for designated heritage assets. [8]

Only those that have special interest or national importance are protected through a range of separate pieces of legislation as either scheduled monuments; listed buildings; registered parks and gardens; registered battlefields; historic wrecks or conservation areas. However, many locally important heritage assets, which do not meet the criteria for national designation, are noted in local council lists, on local 'heritage asset registers' and on 'Historic Environment Records'. These are referred to in local and regional planning policies. [9] 'Heritage environment records' (HERs) are also sometimes called 'Sites and Monuments Records'. [10]

Two-thirds of all heritage assets are said to be privately owned, which reflects the fact that they are often small houses and local sites, rather than just big public buildings. [11]

The Penfold Review of non-planning consents agreed that the recommendations outlined in the Draft Heritage Protection Bill 2009 [12] should be adopted. This would result in a simpler (and hopefully faster and less expensive) planning system. [13]

Cultural definition

The term heritage asset is less commonly used within a cultural context. The UK Highways Agency has developed a series of Cultural Heritage Assets Management Plans (CHAMP) which are designed to protect and enhance the historic environment surrounding the Strategic Road Network. [14] Manchester University uses the term 'cultural asset' for its museums and art gallery collections. [15]

The term is more frequently used in Canada and Australia where it refers to works of art, [16] rituals, ceremonies and aural heritage (i.e. stories and folklore). [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

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English Heritage is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scheduled monument</span> Legally protected archaeological site or historic building in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Listed building</span> Protected historic structure in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural and/or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland. The term has also been used in the Republic of Ireland, where buildings are protected under the Planning and Development Act 2000, although the statutory term in Ireland is "protected structure".

Each county or unitary authority in the United Kingdom maintains a sites and monuments record or SMR, consisting of a list of known archaeological sites. Many SMRs are now developing into much broader historic environment records (HERs), including information on historic buildings and designed landscapes. Each record lists the location, type and period of site, along with a brief description and information on the location of more detailed sources of information such as site reports. This information is most commonly used to help inform decisions on the likelihood of new development affecting archaeological deposits. Government guidance requires local authorities to consider archaeology a material consideration in determining planning applications and the SMR aids this consideration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic preservation</span> Preservation of items of historical significance

Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philosophical concept that became popular in the twentieth century, which maintains that cities as products of centuries' development should be obligated to protect their patrimonial legacy. The term refers specifically to the preservation of the built environment, and not to preservation of, for example, primeval forests or wilderness.

The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register was set up by Historic England under the provisions of the National Heritage Act 1983. Over 1,600 sites are listed, ranging from the grounds of large stately homes to small domestic gardens, as well other designed landscapes such as town squares, public parks and cemeteries. The register is published on the National Heritage List for England alongside other national heritage designations.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural heritage management</span> Vocation and practice of managing cultural heritage

Cultural heritage management (CHM) is the vocation and practice of managing cultural heritage. It is a branch of cultural resources management (CRM), although it also draws on the practices of cultural conservation, restoration, museology, archaeology, history and architecture. While the term cultural heritage is generally used in Europe, in the US the term cultural resources is in more general use specifically referring to cultural heritage resources.

<i>Monument historique</i> National heritage site designation in France

Monument historique is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, a garden, a bridge, or other structure, because of their importance to France's architectural and historical cultural heritage. Both public and privately owned structures may be listed in this way, as well as movable objects. As of 2012 there were 44,236 monuments listed.

Historic England is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with protecting the historic environment of England by preserving and listing historic buildings, scheduling ancient monuments, registering historic parks and gardens and by advising central and local government.

An annual Heritage at Risk Register is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for action and funding decisions. This heritage-at-risk data is one of the UK government's official statistics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural Property (Japan)</span>

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The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, and registered battlefields. It is maintained by Historic England, a government body, and brings together these different designations as a single resource even though they vary in the type of legal protection afforded to them. Although not designated by Historic England, World Heritage Sites also appear on the NHLE; conservation areas do not appear since they are designated by the relevant local planning authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MIDAS Heritage</span> Cultural heritage standard

MIDAS Heritage– the UK Historic Environment Data Standard is a British cultural heritage standard for recording information on buildings, archaeological sites, shipwrecks, parks and gardens, battlefields, areas of interest and artefacts.

Designation is the act of setting aside something, or devoting it to a particular purpose. In the legal planning context, it is also "the action of choosing a place for a special purpose or giving it a special status".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protected areas of Scotland</span> Designated area for protection in Scotland

Many parts of Scotland are protected in accordance with a number of national and international designations because of their environmental, historical or cultural value. Protected areas can be divided according to the type of resource which each seeks to protect. NatureScot has various roles in the delivery of many environmental designations in Scotland, i.e. those aimed at protecting flora and fauna, scenic qualities and geological features. Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designations that protect sites of historic and cultural importance. Some international designations, such as World Heritage Sites, can cover both categories of site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation in Scotland</span>

This article gives an overview of the structure of environmental and cultural conservation in Scotland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom.

References

  1. ↑ Tasmania: Defining Heritage Assets, archived from the original on 15 January 2012, retrieved 6 Jan 2012
  2. ↑ Accounts Standard Board, June 2009, FRS 30 Financial Reporting Standard 'Heritage Assets' ISBN   978-1-84798-206-3
  3. ↑ "Draft Heritage Protection Bill' (2009)" (PDF). Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  4. ↑ "Financial reporting standard 30: Accounts Standard Board June 2009 30 Financial Reporting Standard" . Retrieved 6 January 2011.
  5. ↑ "Financial Reporting Of Heritage Assets In Annual Accounts" . Retrieved 6 January 2011.
  6. ↑ "Tax exempt heritage assets" . Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Department for Communities and Local Government, Planning Policy Statement 5 'Planning for the Historic Environment, 2010
  8. ↑ Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, Historic Environment: Non-designated heritage assets, last updated 23 July 2019, accessed 16 September 2023
  9. ↑ "Heritage Asset Register" (PDF). Oxford City Council. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  10. ↑ "Historic Environment Records" . Retrieved 6 January 2011.
  11. ↑ "House of Commons Heritage assets debate" . Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "Draft Heritage Protection Bill" (PDF). Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  13. ↑ Adrian Penfold. "Penfold Review of non-planning consents" . Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  14. ↑ "Cultural Heritage Assets Management Plans" . Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  15. ↑ "Cultural asset liaison activities" . Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  16. ↑ "Cultural Stewardship" . Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  17. ↑ Professor Ross Gibson. "What is a Cultural Asset?". Sydney College of the Arts. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
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