Local List: Copeland

Cumbria is one of 22 areas to secure funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for its Local Heritage Listing campaign.

This £1.5 million government campaign is designed to help protect the “commonplace or everyday” heritage assets that are valued by people locally but which do not have any existing protection in their own right under planning law.

You can help protect and celebrate Copeland’s cherished local heritage. You can pinpoint the places you would like to be safeguarded, by uploading photos and location details of anything from architecture to landscape, field boundaries, parks, gardens, historic street furniture and signs.

Your nomination will be considered by a panel made up of council and voluntary heritage group representatives from across Cumbria, and a local list will be created.

Submit your nomination to the Local List

Selection criteria

Local listing is the identification of valuable aspects of our past that relate to the local area. It can include all types of heritage asset - buildings, monuments, sites, areas or landscapes. Local Listing doesn’t protect buildings from demolition and doesn’t change what works require permission, but it can be a material planning consideration for new development in some circumstances.

Historic England have outlined some common selection criteria to ascertain whether something is eligible for inclusion on a local list.

Asset type

Although local heritage lists have long been developed successfully for buildings, all heritage asset types may be considered for inclusion for example:

• is the site characteristic of a local area?
• does it demonstrate local practices and way of life?
• how might the site be used to tell the story of the local area?

Age

The age of an asset may be an important criterion, and the age range can be adjusted to take into account distinctive local characteristics or building traditions.

Survival and authenticity

The survival of the original form and material of any heritage asset will add value. Sometimes, however, older sites and features can survive largely hidden behind later remodelling, for example:

• does the building/feature/site remain in a substantial and recognisable form?
• does it retain its historic features and layouts?
• is it a rare survival of its type or one of many examples of its kind which represent an important element in the history of the local area?

Historic interest

A significant historical association of local or national note, including links to important local figures, may enhance the significance of a heritage asset. Blue Plaque and similar schemes may be relevant. Social and communal interest may be regarded as a sub-set of historic interest, but has special value in local listing. It relates to places perceived as a source of local identity, distinctiveness, social interaction and coherence, contributing to the ‘collective memory’ of a place, for example:

• does it relate to an important aspect of local social, cultural, political, religious or economic history?
• is it associated with an important local feature, person or event?
• does it appear in historic documents, maps or photographs?

Archaeological interest

The asset may provide evidence about past human activity, which may be in the form of buried remains but may also be revealed in structure or landscape, for instance. Heritage assets with archaeological interest are primary sources of evidence about the substance and evolution of places, and of the people and cultures that made them.

Archaeological interest is the presence or potential presence of evidence of past human activity worthy of expert investigation, for example:

• is there tangible evidence for the archaeological site?
• is the site visible and can it be characterised?
• are there any known archaeological finds from the site?

Architectural and artistic interest

The intrinsic design and aesthetic value of an asset relating to local and/or national styles, materials, construction and craft techniques, or any other distinctive characteristics, for example:

• is it attractive, characterful, striking or inspiring?
• does it represent a particular architectural style or demonstrate design features characteristic of the local area?
• is it associated with a locally or nationally known architect, designer, engineer or builder?
• is it an attractive designed landscape, green space or other planned area such as a town square which reflects landscaping fashions or historic public realm planning?

Group value

Groupings of assets with a clear visual design or historic relationship, for example:

• Is it demonstrably part of a group of assets which contribute to the area’s heritage?

Landmark status

An asset with strong communal or historical associations, or especially striking aesthetic value, may be singled out, for example:

• is it a key landmark feature, contributing to the landscape, skyline or streetscape?