Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority is encouraging all local community councils, heritage bodies, interest groups, owners and Park residents to help put forward their ideas to develop the Local List.
The Local List will cover buildings, monuments, areas of public interest and places where significant historical events may have taken place that are valued by the community as contributing to local heritage or reinforcing local distinctiveness and sense of place, but do not have listed building status or a similar level of protection.
The list is intended to catalogue and recognise these buildings, monuments or areas so that they can be properly considered when development proposals are submitted to the National Park Authority and assist the planning process.
Each nominated building will be assessed against a set of criteria detailed within the Local List draft approved by members of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority in May last year.
Although there will be no direct additional requirements over properties that are included on the Local List, the National Park Authority will encourage owners to preserve the special qualities that have resulted in their inclusion and will promote restoration where there is good evidence.
Work on the project begins this month, with formal lists being drawn up for the Talgarth and Brecon area. It is planned that lists for Crickhowell and
Hay-on-Wye will be produced in September this year, with the west of the
National Park covered in December and the east of the Park assessed later in February 2013.
In the near future the National Park Authority also has plans to develop a planning guidance note to cover the ‘Protection of the Park’s Heritage’ and
this document will further expand how Local List buildings etc need to be considered in terms of retention and development.
Rosie Burton, Senior Heritage Officer (Buildings Conservation) for Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority said: “Conserving and enhancing the vernacular buildings of archaeological and historical significance is the key to this project, and that’s why we’re asking National Park residents to come forward and tell us the buildings, monuments and areas that are important to them. This is really great news for historic buildings that may require some restoration to bring them back to their best.”
Cllr Eric Saxon, Member Champion for Heritage for Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority said: “As a National Park Authority we feel it’s important that we work closely with local communities to assist in recognising locally important heritage assets that are valued by local residents.
“Adding these buildings, monuments and areas to the Local List will help to ensure that these assets continue to contribute both to the character of the Park’s built environment and to our historic landscapes.”
For details of the Local List criteria, please visit www.breconbeacons.org.
Local List criteria
1. Historic Interest
a) Does this relate to an important aspect of local social, religious, political or economic history?
b) Is it historically associated with an important local feature?
2. Historic Association
a) Is it closely associated with: famous local people, local history events, strong community or social developments (must be well documented)?
b) Does it relate closely to any statutorily protected structure or site?
3. Architectural & Design merit
a) Is the surviving building/structure/park or garden the work of a particular architect or designer which illustrates local or regional architectural history or design?
b) Does it show qualities of age, style or distinctive characteristics relative to the area?
c) Does the architectural design, details and construction materials aid to the local character of the area?
4. Survival
a) Does it remain in a substantial and recognisable form?
b) Does it retain its historic features and layouts?
c) Does it represent an important element in the development of the area?
5. Townscape merit
a) Does it represent an important visual amenity locally? For instance does it create interesting visual impact in an area or make a landmark?
b) Is it a notable building(s) on an important route into the area, which creates a vista or contributes to the skyline? Does it emphasise corner sites or provide focal points in the townscape?
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