Heritage Significance in NPPF Terms , A Plain-English Definition
The NPPF glossary defines significance as 'the value of a heritage asset to this and future generations because of its heritage interest. The interest may be archaeological, architectural, artistic or historic. Significance derives not only from a heritage asset's physical presence, but also from its setting.' This four-value framing is operationalised by GPA 2 and the English Heritage 2008 Conservation Principles, which subdivides into evidential, historical, aesthetic and communal values.
The four heritage values
- Evidential value. What the fabric, layout or context tells us about past human activity. A timber-frame survival in a brick-faced terrace has evidential value disproportionate to its visible footprint.
- Historical value. Illustrative or associative connections with past people, events or aspects of life. A house once occupied by a notable figure carries associative historical value; a vernacular farmhouse illustrating an extinct way of life carries illustrative historical value.
- Aesthetic value. The way the asset draws sensory and intellectual stimulation. Includes design value (intended) and fortuitous value (the picturesque accumulation).
- Communal value. Meanings of the asset for the people who relate to it, including commemorative, symbolic and social dimensions.
How to demonstrate significance in a Heritage Statement
Walk each of the four values in turn, with evidence. Cite the listing description but go beyond it , the listing entry is a summary, not the totality of significance. Use the 1950s-1960s Royal Commission inventories, the Pevsner Buildings of England series, the National Heritage List for England, and the LPA's own conservation-area appraisal where one exists.
Why significance determines the harm test
The greater the significance, the greater the weight given to its conservation under NPPF ¶205. A Grade I asset attracts 'great weight' and triggers the substantial-harm test of NPPF ¶200 at a lower threshold of physical change than a Grade II asset. This is why a like-for-like sash window replacement on a Grade I building can require an HIA where it would not on a Grade II.