Friday 08 November 2013
The Environment Department is currently carrying out a Review of the Protected Buildings List and is committed, as part of the process, to resolving some of the issues surrounding the existing methods of selection for the List, the extent of Listing and levels of control.
In July 2012 the Department began a process of surveying buildings as the first step to determining whether or not they should be included on the Protected Buildings List. One of the critical stages in this process is developing criteria to provide a transparent and consistent baseline against which all existing protected buildings, and those with potential to be added to the List, can be assessed in the future. This will not only ensure that all buildings are fairly considered in the same way so that appropriate levels of protection can be applied, but will also help building owners and professionals understand what is important about their building through the assessment process and why the Department may make certain decisions. The surveying of buildings will be ongoing but once the Criteria have been established, consistent decisions will be able to be made as to whether surveyed buildings are included on the Protected Buildings List or not.
The project is also considering a system for grading Guernsey's protected buildings so that an appropriate and proportionate level of protection and control can be applied by identifying whether a building is of 'outstanding special interest' (Grade A) or has a lesser 'special interest' (Grade B).
The Environment Department has written draft criteria, which are based on the areas of special interest identified in the Planning Law, to provide a framework to help to establish, in a consistent way, what may be significant about a particular building. The Department is now seeking feedback from the public on the draft criteria and proposed grading system, through a public consultation which will run for 6 weeks from 11 November 2013 to 20 December 2013.
This is your chance to comment on the Draft Criteria and grading system so that responses can be taken into consideration when formulating the final criteria which will be published early next year. Following the close of the public consultation the Department will collate and review the responses which will be published in a summary report. Comments made as part of the public consultation will be used to inform any amendments to the criteria.
The draft criteria and proposals for grading are set out in the Environment Department's report 'Criteria for the Selection of Buildings for the Protected Buildings List- The Criteria' which can be found on the Department's website at www.gov.gg/planning or collected from the Environment Department's reception at Sir Charles Frossard House. Responses can be submitted in writing, or on the response form which can also be found on the Department's website, or can be submitted by e mail to: pbsurvey@gov.gg. Responses must be received by 17:00 on 20 December 2013.
