Welsh councils to net new powers as historic environment legislation passed

The National Assembly for Wales has this week passed legislation designed to improve the protection and management of the country’s historic environment.

Measures in the Historic Environment (Wales) Bill, which is expected to receive Royal Assent in March this year, will allow the development of a system of preservation notices and give local authorities new ways to recover their costs when they have to take direct action.

The Bill is also intended to make it more difficult for individuals who damage protected monuments to escape prosecution by pleading ignorance of a monument’s status or location.

The Welsh Government said the legislation would in addition:

• put historic environment records on a statutory footing. These records allow advice on decisions by planning authorities and land managers to be based on sound information. “This stands in sharp contrast to the crisis that, many argue, is confronting archaeological services across England as local authorities are forced to make wide-ranging cuts”;
• simplify some of the systems in place for the management of scheduled monuments and listed buildings by allowing owners to enter into voluntary heritage partnership agreements with consenting authorities;
• create an independent panel to provide the Welsh Ministers with expert advice on policy and strategy;
• introduce formal consultation with owners of buildings or monuments before a decision to protect them is made;
• extend the definition of what can be protected as an ancient monument to include some battlefield sites and prehistoric settlements.

Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates, said: “The Bill has been the result of extensive conversations with heritage professionals, voluntary organisations and the public. This gave us a clear idea of the challenges and the need for effective and flexible mechanisms for how we manage change.

“I am proud that in passing this Bill we are giving greater protection to our historic environment, raising awareness of its significance and supporting its sustainable management. Our outstanding historic sites and buildings need this protection so that they can continue to fascinate and inspire people for generations to come.”

Alongside the Bill, new policy, advice and guidance is to be published following consultation.

According to the Welsh Government, there were 119 cases of damage to scheduled monuments recorded between 2006–2012, but only one successful prosecution.