The first level of Heritage assessment is the Statement of Significance.  This is recommended before any work is done on potential changes or new uses. It will set out clearly why a particular place is of significance, which means that it explains why it matters and why it is heritage that should be valued.

Significance can be attributed for a huge diversity of reasons and to heritage of all periods.  It may be on account of the quality of the architecture, or the antiquity of the archaeology or the beauty of the landscape setting, or the biodiversity of the place, or the exotic plants in the gardens, or the unique furniture inside or perhaps the important history of the site or people associated with it.

There will be different levels of significance associated with different aspects of a place’s heritage but funders and planning authorities all require it to be understood.  It is also good practice to do so as guardians of our heritage.

Holland Heritage is well placed to write Statements of Significance whether they are for buildings, collections, landscapes or places.

This is the next level of Heritage assessment. Whether considering taking on a major conservation project or in the process of submitting a large funding application you will need a Conservation Statement or a Conservation Plan depending on the nature of your project and the stage it is at.  

These studies, whenever they are prepared, whatever their content, or whoever writes them, are about setting down the Significance of a place, evaluating how Vulnerable that significance is to change and, from all that, guiding the project in how to make Changes required without unnecessarily damaging the identified significance.

A Conservation Plan is the more detailed of the two and assesses the potential impact of the chosen future uses and recommends management policies that, if adhered to, will ensure the heritage asset is protected.

These specialist reports are required by funders.  Firstly this is to reassure them that the heritage and its conservation issues are fully understood and that the proposals are sound and respect that heritage.  Secondly these reports are intended to demonstrate that, if funding is awarded, that the heritage will clearly be better off for the foreseeable future.

A Conservation Plan should be a tool by which the project can preserve the best of the past whilst at the same time create the best of the future.  Holland Heritage believes they should be living, useful and helpful documents – they should not be written simply to tick a box on an application form and then sit on a shelf gathering dust.

A Heritage Impact Assessment evaluates proposals relating to a heritage asset or its setting to understand if they would cause harm.   It can also identify the potential for mitigation to reduce the impact of any harm.  A Heritage Impact Assessment including a full understanding of the heritage significance is required for all applications for Listed Building Consent.

A Conservation Area Appraisal is prepared by Local Authorities.  They have a statutory duty to periodically review their designated Conservation Areas to ensure that the special historic character is preserved and to consider if the boundary needs amendment.  Conservation Area Appraisals are always required in conjunction with applications for Townscape Initiative grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and they are likely also to be required where urban regeneration funding is being sought.

This study will make a detailed survey of the designated area, understand its character and historical development.  It will assess the particular threats to the identified special character and propose ways in which the area can be preserved and enhanced.  It will also assess if the boundary to the area is correct or maybe it needs to be widened to include heritage areas that had not previously been valued.

As with individual buildings or sites it is best practice to start any townscape enhancement or regeneration project with an Appraisal so as to fully understand it before changing it.

Holland Heritage is well qualified to write Conservation Area Appraisals.

An Options Appraisal is written when a building needs new uses, often where it is redundant or where its existing uses are not viable.   This study would be informed by the Statement of Significance or Conservation Statement as it would need to start with a good understanding of the significance of the place and its condition and its capacity for change. The Options Appraisal would evaluate in detail how the building might be able to be changed without having an unacceptable impact on its significance. From that it would then explain what sort of uses the building could be converted to.   The next step of the Options Appraisal is to assess what the needs of the area are and what sort of uses might be economically feasible. The conclusion of the study would identify a range of possible options, with their pros and cons, and would explain which is the preferred option.

Holland Heritage has long-standing experience of advising on adaptive reuse of historic buildings and is well placed to carry out Options Appraisals.

A Condition Survey is needed where the poor condition of a building is putting it at risk of loss of historic character or structural failure.  It is also often needed to understand the feasibility of carrying out certain changes which could affect the structural integrity of a building.

Holland Heritage can advise when a specific Condition Survey is needed and can arrange for a suitably qualified professional to carry out the survey.

Some places also have historic collections on which Holland Heritage can advise. These may include important collections of paintings, ceramics or textiles and may also include paper archives, including family letters and photographs.  These need specialist care in creating inventories, ensuring the right environmental control, managing the display and handling of the collections and ensuring any necessary conservation work is programmed.

Holland Heritage can facilitate consultation events on heritage assets and can help community groups and Building Preservation Trusts to decide what is best for the place they wish to rescue or enhance.  We can capacity-build local groups to support them in delivering heritage projects. 

We can also mentor groups in writing Vision Statements, conducting Skills Audits and reviewing their Governance, all important steps in building the right group to deliver the specific heritage project.

Holland Heritage has links with a number of other consultants of differing expertise who together can work on a diverse range of projects to deliver a variety of projects, big and small, covering all aspects of the historic environment.