Welcome to the Community Advice Hub. This is where you and your community can find out about your place and how to look after it. You can find out how the planning process works and how you can get involved and get important information about listed buildings, conservation areas and protected archaeology. Heritage professionals and others can also find advice on engaging with communities.
Why is the planning system important? The planning system ensures that development is in the right place when new houses, shops, parks, community centres or factories are planned. The aim is to conserve what’s important in your area for the enjoyment of people today and in the future. Find out about the planning system, how it affects you and your place, and how to get involved at a local level.
Information on the national planning system and how decisions are made to protect what’s of value in your place. You’ll need to know how the system works if you are considering building on or around your property. There are a range of advice notes covering planning topics in more detail and at a more practical level.
The next tier of the planning system is a Local Plan. Local Planning Authorities (most likely your district or borough council) have to make a Local Plan setting out policies for making planning decisions in your area. Local plans will affect decisions on development in your area and protect what’s important.
Neighbourhood plans are in place to offer you the opportunity to affect what sort of development goes on around your place. They can be prepared by a parish or town council, a neighbourhood forum or a community organisation. This guidance explains how to consider value and heritage in your plan.
Local Lists identify heritage important to your community and play an essential role in protecting local character and distinctiveness. They can be used to identify significant local heritage to support the development of Local Plans. You can get involved with drafting the selection criteria for listing local heritage, as well as nominating assets to add to the list.
Conservation Areas
Here you can find out about planning and Conservation Areas.
Tell Your Council
You might have ideas to look after a particular part of your place. Do you care about the quality of your surroundings? Are you concerned about a local conservation area? Do you want to do something about it? Here’s some ideas about when and how to contact your local council.
Improve Your Street
There are lots of ways to look after your historic place. Here’s some advice on keeping your streets tidy. It might help you to be part of a residents or community group, that way you'll have strength in numbers.
Have you ever thought about taking on a building, as a community and for your community to use? Maybe a pub that’s closing down, or a community centre, or even a church. Perhaps the local council wants to get rid of assets it can’t afford to maintain any more but you see it as of value to your place. Community-based organisations are taking on responsibility for managing buildings that were formerly owned by local authorities. This ‘asset transfer’ to your community helps prevent these assets, which are often local landmarks, from falling into decay or inappropriate use. Often these buildings are placed on a list called ‘assets of community value’.
This advice on 'asset transfer' explains what the local council should do and what you as a community group need to do, including case studies. Why not phone your council and find out who to talk to.
Are you worried about a building in your area? Perhaps it is a landmark building that means something to you and your neighbours? Perhaps it is not now getting the care it needs or is the subject of rumours that it is going to be redeveloped? Here are some of the ways which might help you save it.
Perhaps you’ve acquired a historic building that’s been empty for a while: here is some advice about what to do.
It might be that the building you are taking on is listed. The most likely council buildings will often be Grade II which means that they are the responsibility of the council. Get in touch with your council’s Conservation Officer if you need advice. Anything higher than Grade II would need to be discussed with Historic England. Here is our owner's guide to listed buildings.
Our range of advice on listing specific types of buildings
A historic overview and guide to managing change of terraced housing to understand the buildings and what is special about them.
How to inspect, conserve and repair historic buildings after flooding, as well as ways to prevent flood damage in the first place.
There are lots of other things that are valuable to your place or area, such as archaeological sites that need preservation and might be of interest to your community. Whereas buildings are listed, archaeological remains are scheduled. This is the protection that allows the preservation of remains.
Thinking about the potential use of a building or site, it is important to ensure accessibility for all members of your community.
A range of technical advice to support retrofit for increased energy efficiency in historic buildings.
You can find a lot of information about your place on line or from your library. As well as that Your local council will have a Historic Environment Record. This is a database of information about all types of historic assets in your area. You can apply for information from the Records Officer.
Do you want to repair a building or memorial, or fund some research? These links will show you how to apply for grants.
Here you can find information on Historic England grant schemes.
The Lottery funds projects of all sizes that connect people and communities to the UK’s heritage.
Offers grants to help not-for-private profit organisations to develop plans to revitalise heritage buildings.
Apply for funding to take ownership of assets at risk of loss in your community.
In this section you will find advice on how best to engage with local community groups and organisations, as well as information to help you build your business case for effective and appropriate community engagement.
Why Engage with Communities and How to Do it Effectively
Advice on why you as a heritage sector professional should engage with communities and how you can do this effectively.
How to Find Local Community Organisations
Advice on how to identify community-based organisations both inside and outside of the heritage sector.
How to Value Community Contributions
Ways to give recognition to community contributions in heritage projects.
Useful Organisations for Working with Communities
A list of key organisations to work with when engaging with communities for heritage projects.
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