** This event has been CANCELLED

Significance is now a core concept within our planning process. Its assessment is a key part of management and of development within the historic environment. This course will introduce the process, show you what is involved in preparing assessments of significance, teach you how to read and judge such assessments, and explore the ways in which they can be used. At the end, you should be convinced about the value of significance as a planning and management tool!

Programme

Wednesday 23 September

9.15am               Registration and coffee/tea

9.45am               Introduction

10.10am             Definitions and Overarching Concepts

10.25am             Does Heritage Matter?

11.15am             Coffee/tea break

11.35am             Does Heritage Matter? (continued)

11.50am             Assessments of significance – why, what and how?

12.30pm             Class exercise – establishing the scope of an assessment of significance

1.15pm               Lunch

2.00pm               Group working on case study – developing an assessment of significance

3.30pm               Coffee/tea break

3.50pm               Group working on case study – developing an assessment of significance continuation

4.45pm               Public engagement issues relating to heritage assessments

5.30pm               Discussion of issues from the first day

6.00pm               Break

7.00pm               Dinner

 

Thursday 24 September

9.00am               Review of groups’ assessments

9.30am               Group exercise – critique of some heritage statement examples

11.00am             Coffee/tea break

11.20am             Resume of what has been learned

11.30am             Key issues to be considered in preparing assessments of significance

12.40am             Settings and views

1.15pm               Lunch

2.00pm               Group working on a case study involving the setting of a designated asset and key views

3.15pm               Coffee/tea break

3.45pm               Group working – using the assessment to develop principles to guide and manage change within the historic environment

5.00pm               Exercise and discussion on substantial harm

5.45pm               Break

7.00pm               Dinner

 

Friday 25 September    

8.30am               Site visit to Bletchley Park

1.00pm               Lunch

1.45pm               Structured discussion on issues arising from site visit

2.45pm               Coffee/tea break

3.10pm               Impact assessments

4.30pm               Discussion of outstanding issues from course

4.45pm               Course disperses

 

Course Director

Stephen Bond

Stephen Bond runs heritage consultancy Heritage Places, providing advice relating to the historic environment and its conservation for national and local government, public sector funding bodies, property management, development and institutional clients, charitable trusts, and other professional advisors. He is joint author of Managing Built Heritage – the role of cultural values and significance, the second edition of which was published by Wiley‐Blackwell in 2016.

Course Co-Director

Henry Russell, Course Director of the programme in Conservation of the Historic Environment, Reading University