Robert Lloyd-Sweet English Heritage Understanding Local Heritage and the Oxford Toolkit

Oxford’s nationally valued heritage Education Medieval/Georgian/Victorian City Centre Limestone Architecture Skyline

What about Oxford’s Locally valued heritage? Homes and communities Industrial city District centres Education outside the university Green spaces

First principles Local listing is as much about information as control Nominations need to say why listing is merited

First principles Significance is what we value an asset for. Importance is how much notice we take of it. Local significance is different to, not less than, national significance. Heritage assets might be valued for different reasons locally than they are nationally

Two approaches Comparative curatorial (The stamp collector) “I want the best examples of each type of building for my collection” - Thematic survey required Contextualist “I want to preserve the buildings that make my place special” - Area survey required

Setting up your list: OHAR The process Getting people involved Characterise the areas and identify potential heritage assets Criteria – how will these reflect local conditions? Consultation A review process Adoption/Rejection

Working together The Project Board – What to do with a Heritage Champion Public steering group – develop robust criteria and nominations form Working group – develop character statement themes Residents’ Associations preparing neighbourhood character statements Wider outreach programme to encourage nomination of heritage assets Councillors and local experts as review panel

Character Assessment Toolkits These will help you describe character They may help you justify value judgments They may help you work together or with particular information sources Material Tools, skill, effort x time, honesty Quality product

Tools that are available Cumbria County Council ‘Landscape Character Guidance and Toolkit’ CPRE ‘A Toolkit for Your Countryside’ Urban Design Skills ‘PlaceCheck’ English Heritage ‘Understanding Place’ and ‘Conservation Principles’ The Oxford Character Assessment Toolkit

The Survey Tools A detailed toolkit A fast toolkit A comparable approach Observations are guided to have weight A scoring system to help convey positive and negative contributions

One Area or Many?

Description + analysis

What goes in a character statement? Describe the area Review its historical development Identify key positive characteristics and features Including key themes Identify issues for character

Example – Tettenhall Neighbourhood Plan

Using it as a basis for local listing Which buildings/spaces make the greatest contribution to the area’s character and distinctiveness? Do they do this as ‘heritage’? Architecture History Archaeology Art Are they heritage assets?

Using criteria 85 (25%) English Councils have published criteria for local listing of buildings 64 different criteria in total 5 criteria used by between half and three quarters 11 criteria use by between half and a quarter

Oxford’s ’Exclusive’ Criteria it must be capable of being a heritage asset within the government’s definition it must have heritage interest that can be conserved and enjoyed It must have value as heritage for the character and identity of the area for its heritage interest beyond personal or family connections Its significance must be greater than the general positive value of its surroundings

The significance engine Heritage Interest Heritage Value Assessment of importance Properties Architectural Historic Archaeological Artistic Contribution Historical Evidential Aesthetic Communal (character) Specialness Rarity Age Integrity Group (character)

The nomination form The Inclusive Criteria

East Oxford: Neighbourhoods

East Oxford: Themes Immigration, Cultural Diversity and Tolerance Protest, Celebration and Art Faith Industry Shopping Health and Social Welfare Education Entertainment Car Manufacturing

East Oxford Heritage Assets

Investigate the unexpected

The Old Music Hall, Cowley Road Criterion 1 It’s a building Criterion 2 It has architectural and historic interest Criterion 3 It connects us with the past of Cowley Road as a focus of entertainment and political activism It makes a positive contribution to the aesthetic value of the area It connects us to the history of a company that has significant as a part of Oxford’s identity Criterion 4 It is a rare survival in Oxford It has a high degree of integrity It’s age relates to a time when Cowley Road was developing as the focus of a new suburb

Oxford Stadium, Sandy Lane Criterion 1 It’s a group of buildings and a place Criterion 2 It has historic interest and some architectural interest Criterion 3 It connects us with the histories of two sports in Oxford with a national and local level of interest for over 75 years The buildings and spaces illustrate the development of these sports It illustrates the early history of the area as part of the city’s edge It has drawn the community together and contributed to their identity Criterion 4 It is a rare survival in Oxford (+ Oxfordshire and England) It has a high degree of integrity (it retains buildings that document its development). It’s age relates to a time before the major suburb around it developed and reflects the mix of employment and recreation uses.