Planning Research
It's important to understand how the planning system works in practice in order to inform Historic England's support and guidance. This page introduces a number of pieces of planning research which Historic England has undertaken or commissioned.
Heritage-Related Article 4 Directions
The Heritage-Related Article 4 Direction Report was commissioned by Historic England as an initial research project to aid Historic England’s analysis of the use of Article 4 Directions (A4Ds) in protecting the historic environment in England.
The research, undertaken by Avalon Planning & Heritage, used data, surveys of local authority officers, and targeted interviews to analyse the purposes and effectiveness of A4Ds in protecting the historic environment as well as any drivers or barriers to their implementation.
The report identified over 2000 heritage-related A4Ds across England. The report found that A4Ds were used across all regions and all settlement types, but with greater use in London and the Southeast and urban areas. A4Ds are most commonly either targeted at individual or 2 – 20 dispersed properties, or applied to a designated area (such as a conservation area), and a majority control 1 or 2 forms of development, suggesting that they are being used in a targeted way.
The five most commonly withdrawn permitted development rights are exterior painting, general extensions and alterations, hard surfaces, porches, and the erection of gates, fences, and walls. Survey feedback suggested that the effectiveness is often dependent on stakeholder buy-in, monitoring, and enforcement.
The survey and interview feedback identified clear drivers and barriers – the most important being the availability of resourcing within their authority, the availability of officer time, and the success of stakeholder engagement.
The underlying data supporting the research represents the most comprehensive dataset available to date on the national use of A4Ds to protect the historic environment.
Previous reports
Evidence-Gathering Report: Context and Messaging
Earlier in 2023, the Historic Environment Protection Reform Group (HEPRG) commissioned an evidence-gathering exercise to provide evidence on the current functioning of the planning system in relation to applications involving designated heritage assets and sites of archaeological interest. This exercise was designed to provide a ‘snapshot’ of statistical information about heritage-related planning and listed building consent applications, made to a sample of local planning authorities, over two two-week periods in 2022.
The report concludes that the system is under increasing strain and that the effects of this are felt with varying degrees of severity across local planning authorities. It is also clear that determination times for both planning and listed building consent applications have lengthened, although the vast majority of applications that progressed as far as a decision were granted.
The causes of the increase in delays are likely to be complex and require further research (see below), but this report does identify two of the more obvious contributing factors:
- Local capacity: it is impossible to avoid the inference that reduced access to expert advice causes delays and there is a need better to understand the impact of cuts to service quality.
- Heritage Statements: whilst these are meant to aid the planning application process, the report concludes that their quality is patchy and needs improvement to help improve effective decision-making – ‘…heritage statements remain a poorly understood and implemented component of the heritage planning system.’
The immediate next step has been to commission a further stage to the research that will drill down more specifically on the causes of the delays identified. This will then inform HEPRG’s discussion around developing practical proposals designed to improve the effectiveness of the heritage planning system.
The Heritage Dimension of Commercial Renewable Energy Development in Planning
A review of renewable energy applications was commissioned to provide an initial overview of the consideration of heritage within the planning process for such applications. The research reviewed the BEIS Renewable Energy Planning Database (June 2020) with regard to heritage implications.
The research analysed a sample of 458 applications from England focusing on solar photovoltaics, energy from waste (EfW) incineration, biomass and wind (offshore and onshore).
Archaeology and Planning Case Studies
The aim of the Archaeology and Planning Case Studies Project is to help sector organisations respond to further proposed changes in the planning system. The collection of accessible archaeology and planning case studies can be drawn on to illustrate the successful implementation of key elements of current national planning policy, as well as the problems that can result if these policies are not followed or if such policies in the future were to be removed.
The project results are presented in two volumes:
- Volume 1 - a report discussing the project methodology and themes emerging from the case studies
- Volume 2 - case studies
Listed Building Consents: A Review of Data
A review of data on listed building consents was commissioned to give a statistically robust insight on trends in listed building consents over a three-year period, March 2011 - March 2014.
The research analyses a sample of 936 applications for listed building consent. The cases are evenly distributed so far as practicable between regions, between urban and rural areas, between authorities which do and do not charge for pre-application discussions, and between periods before and after legislation came into effect to reintroduce V.A.T. at 20% on approved works to listed buildings.
Alongside headline figures such as type of applicant, works and whether or not an agent was used for example, variables were tested against each other and preliminary findings explained in more detail with respect to the wider socio-economic climate.
Potential Impacts of Brownfield Development: an Assessment
The government has made the case for developing brownfield land in order to help address the housing shortage in England.
Using Leeds city centre as a case study, this assessment evaluates the likely scale of brownfield development, and its potential impact on historic fabric and places. This revealed that (potentially) we currently underestimate the number of historic assets and places that might be impacted by brownfield development.
There is analysis of the opportunities for enhanced understanding of the significance and value of those places selected for potential brownfield development. The report also frames the scope of our potential response and engagement with the development proposed.
The Heritage Dimension of Planning Applications
This Historic England research reviewed just under a thousand planning and listed building consent applications across the country, to explore the ‘heritage dimension’ of planning activity. Specifically, the research looked at:
- The frequency with which heritage assets feature in such applications
- How they feature
- What impact the inclusion of heritage assets within a proposal has on the processing and determination of these applications
Heritage in Planning Decisions: The NPPF and Designated Heritage Assets
Historic England commissioned Green Balance to review decisions on planning applications relating to designated heritage assets, and to determine whether or not:
- The heritage policies of the National Planning Policy Framework are being implemented
- The decisions are having the desired effect of protecting and enhancing the historic environment
Also of interest
