Heritage statement for Richmond upon Thames, to the council's six-point checklist
Richmond upon Thames has 85 conservation areas and a council list of Buildings of Townscape Merit that sits beside the national listing. Its validation checklist says a heritage statement should always include six points, from a Historic Environment Record search to justification of the impact. We write to that list, for a fixed £595.
Fixed fee from £595 · all prices
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Where Richmond's list is different
The council's Local Validation Checklist (version 2.1, April 2021) asks for a heritage statement where a proposal affects a designated or non-designated heritage asset or its setting. Designated assets include listed buildings, conservation areas, World Heritage Sites, registered parks and gardens and scheduled monuments. Non-designated assets include Buildings of Townscape Merit, which the checklist says are designated by the council, and Archaeological Priority Areas.
A Building of Townscape Merit is not listed, so a house on that list does not need listed building consent, but the checklist treats it as a heritage asset for the statement. If you own an unlisted Victorian villa in Twickenham or Kew, it is worth checking the council's map first.
Heritage Statement in Richmond upon Thames
from £595
Every price is the full fixed fee you pay. No VAT is charged. Council application fees are paid to the council separately.
What you get
- Details of all heritage assets affected
- A summary of the Greater London Historic Environment Record findings
- A summary of the significance or special interest of each asset
- A summary of your proposals and a statement of their impact
- Justification showing how the design conserves or minimises harm
- Reference to any Article 4 Direction on the property
- List the assets
Listed buildings, conservation areas, townscape merit.
- Check the Record
Summarise the Historic Environment Record consultation.
- Summarise significance
The special interest of each asset affected.
- Summarise the proposal
What is changing, and its impact on significance.
- Justify and mitigate
How the design avoids harm, and any heritage benefit.
The six points
The checklist says the scope will vary but a heritage statement should always include six things: details of all heritage assets affected; a summary of the findings from consultation with the Greater London Historic Environment Record; a summary of the significance or special interest of the assets; a summary of the proposals; a statement of how the proposals will impact on significance; and a justification of the impact, including how the proposal has been designed to conserve or minimise harm and any heritage benefits that may outweigh the harm.
The checklist says that as a minimum the record should be reviewed and referenced, so we run that into the statement as its own paragraph.
Where the work also needs listed building consent, our listed building consent drawings are a separate fixed-fee service, and government guidance says there is no fee for the application itself.
Proportionate, and with Article 4 in view
The checklist says the level of detail should be proportionate to the importance of the asset and no more than is sufficient to understand the impact of the proposal on its significance. It also points to details of Article 4 Directions relating to conservation on the council's interactive mapping, so we check the address against it before we begin.
A borough of 85 conservation areas
The council's conservation areas FAQ says Richmond contains 85 conservation areas, ranging from former historic villages such as Hampton and town centres such as Richmond to the vast historic Richmond Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, a World Heritage Site.
Our fixed £595 covers the statement. Where the work also needs listed building consent, our listed building consent drawings are a separate fixed-fee service, and government guidance says there is no fee for the application itself.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| designated and non-designated assets | Richmond Local Validation Checklist v2.1 (April 2021), Heritage Statement: required where a proposal affects a designated or non-designated heritage asset or its setting; designated assets include listed buildings, conservation areas, World Heritage Sites, registered parks and gardens and scheduled monuments | www.richmond.gov.uk |
| Buildings of Townscape Merit | Richmond Local Validation Checklist v2.1: non-designated heritage assets include Buildings of Townscape Merit (designated by the Council) and Archaeological Priority Areas | www.richmond.gov.uk |
| six required points | Richmond Local Validation Checklist v2.1: a heritage statement should always include details of all heritage assets affected; a summary of the Greater London Historic Environment Record findings; significance; a summary of the proposals; the impact on significance; and justification including mitigation | www.richmond.gov.uk |
| Historic Environment Record reviewed and referenced | Richmond Local Validation Checklist v2.1: as a minimum the Historic Environment Record should be reviewed and referenced | www.richmond.gov.uk |
| proportionate detail | Richmond Local Validation Checklist v2.1: the level of detail should be proportionate to the heritage asset's importance and no more than sufficient to understand the impact on significance | www.richmond.gov.uk |
| Article 4 Directions on the council's map | Richmond Local Validation Checklist v2.1: details about Heritage Assets and Article 4 Directions relating to conservation can be found on the Council's interactive mapping | www.richmond.gov.uk |
| 85 | Richmond Council, Conservation areas FAQ: (source wording: Richmond contains 85 conservation areas) | www.richmond.gov.uk |
| no fee | Planning Practice Guidance, Historic environment, para 044: (source wording: "There is no fee for submitting an application for listed building consent") | www.gov.uk |
Questions people ask
What must a Richmond heritage statement include?
Do I need one for a Building of Townscape Merit?
How many conservation areas are there in Richmond?
Is the checklist current?
Photographs: David Howard (CC BY-SA 2.0); Tim Green from Bradford (CC BY 2.0).
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