North East Lincolnshire has a rich and diverse historic environment. It ranges from prehistoric find-spots and medieval earthworks in the Wolds villages to listed buildings and conservation areas, taking in the modern landscapes of the South Humber Bank.
Quick Links
Information on Archaeological Areas
Information on Conservation Areas and Article 4 Directions
Information on Heritage Assessments, including when and how to compile them
Information on Locally Listed Heritage Assets
Information on Nationally Listed Buildings, Scheduled Monuments and Registered Parks and Gardens
The Historic Environment Record
The principle source of information about the historic environment of North East Lincolnshire is the Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) or the Historic Environment Record (HER). This is a computerized inventory of known archaeological sites, historic buildings, monuments and find spots within North East Lincolnshire. Information from the record can be accessed by contacting the Historic Environment team and some mapping can be found on the Council's interactive mapping service Find My Nearest
As well as sites recorded on the SMR/HER, some archaeological sites in North East Lincolnshire are regarded as being of national significance. These are commonly referred to as Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAM's); these sites are protected from damage, development and alteration under the Ancient Monuments and Areas Act 1979.
The record also contains information on the Listed Buildings and Registered Parks in the area. Alternatively information on these designated sites can be found through English Heritage's searchable database The National Heritage List for England
Archaeology and development
Part of the core duties of the Archaeological Officer is to advise on planning applications and pre-application discussions.
If you are planning on submitting a planning application in one of North East Lincolnshire's historic settlements or are planning a major development anywhere in the area then please contact the Archaeological Officer for advice on dealing with archaeological issues.
Details of the archaeological areas, including what types of recording works may be required, can be found by following the Archaeological Areas link at the bottom of the page.
Building Conservation
The built environment of North East Lincolnshire is the product of hundreds of years of construction, re-organization, demolition and rebuilding. The area's buildings are one of the main components that give North East Lincolnshire its character and show the development of the towns and villages. The buildings in the area range from simple 17th century timber and mud cottages to the iconic 94 meter tall Dock Tower.
It is the role of the council's conservation and design officer to advise on the maintenance of these buildings, comment on proposed alterations and additions, help design new buildings and to make sure that our most important buildings are kept in good order by their owners. They also work on documents with wide ranging implications, assessments of an areas character, development and regeneration plans.
Details of the Conservation Areas and Article 4 Directions can be found by following the link at the bottom of the page.
National Planning Policy Framework
There have been some changes to national policy with regard to heritage assets. Planning Policy Guidance Note 15 and Planning Policy Guidance Note 16 which covered listed buildings, conservation areas and archaeology were replaced by Planning Policy Statement 5: Planning for the Historic Environment (PPS5) in 2010, which was itself merged into the National Planning Policy framework (NPPF) in 2012. All heritage assets, both designated and undesignated are covered by the policies within the NPPF. These assets include the following designated (ie. statutorily protected) heritage assets found in the Borough:-
• Scheduled Monuments
• Listed Buildings
• Conservation Areas
• Registered Parks and Gardens
Also the following undesignated heritage assets:-
• Locally Listed Buildings
• Archaeological sites and monuments
• Historic buildings of interest (not in conservation areas)
• And any other asset which may have significance as a heritage asset
Policy 128 of the NPPF states that applications affecting heritage assets should include an assessment of significance and an assessment of how any proposals impact (relative to the proposals either negatively or positively) upon the asset(s). This requirement replaces the need to provide:
Listed Building Appraisals
Conservation Area Appraisals
Heritage Statements.
Detailed guidance on the preparation of assessments of significance is under way and should be available soon.
It will therefore be a requirement from Monday 4th April 2011 that a Heritage Assessment is supplied with any application affecting a heritage asset which must contain the following sections (clearly marked as such) in order to be validated:
A. An Assessment of Significance, and
B. A Heritage Impact Assessment
This simplifies matters with regard to the amount and type of documents supplied but the diversity of heritage assets covered by the NPPF means that more than one heritage asset may need to be assessed. For example, a listed building in a conservation area will need an assessment of significance for the listed building but a statement also for the conservation area with an explanation of how the proposals will impact (positively or negatively) on both assets.