ABSTRACT
This paper will begin by defining cultural heritage in the built environment. It will go on to summarise the growth of sensitivity towards cultural heritage in post-war British Society within the context of changing political and economic trends, and will provide a description of the scope and framework of current conservation planning policy.
The paper will consider the notion of conservation in its two aspects: as an expression of the need to identify with and preserve the outline of a developing cultural identity; and, as a corollary of this, the demand for sustainable economic growth, social focalization and sensitive environmental planning in and around sites of historic value.
The paper will discuss the relationships between some of the principal parties involved in the protection of the built heritage and will look at the principles and problems of drafting an integrated policy, at national and local level, to deal with preservation without impeding change. Methods and criteria of quality assessment, and techniques for admitting and controlling such change in the context of a programme of sustainable resource management will be considered.
