Quote:Whilst we welcome the Government?s interest in the Historic Environment and its attempts to address it more holistically, RESCUE remains unconvinced by the arguments in favour of the homogenous unified protection regime as outlined within PPS5. We do not believe that the wide range of ?heritage assets? covered by this policy can be adequately protected by generic ?one size fits all? policies. The ?heritage importance? of these different types of site will vary in each case - in some it has yet to emerge or be fully understood, yet this unified approach effectively denies the essential differences in their nature and therefore surely compromises proper assessment of the specific protection measures they might require.
RESCUE is also disappointed that PPS5 has been released without adequate prior consultation with relevant stakeholders. As with the earlier version, its drafting has taken place under an inexplicable and deliberate veil of secrecy which we cannot support. This lack of consultation is clearly visible in the finished document and the accompanying Practice Guide, which both continue to suffer from a lack of detail and vague terminology in important areas. This will likely cause problems in the future, as the practical implementation of the policies and guidance is attempted.
Now this process has been completed and the document has been released, RESCUE believes that there are more pressing issues that the Government and various heritage bodies should address urgently within the UK heritage sector.