Protecting Parks and Gardens
Although inclusion of an historic park or garden on the Register in itself brings no additional statutory controls, local authorities are required by central government to make provision for the protection of the historic environment in their policies and their allocation of resources. Registration is a material consideration in planning terms (Planning Policy Guidance Note 15, 2.24, September 1994) so, following an application for development which would affect a registered park or garden, local planning authorities must, when determining whether or not to grant permission, take into account the historic interest of the site.
To ensure that local planning authorities have the appropriate professional advice when considering such applications, they are required to consult English Heritage where the application affects a grade I or II* registered site, and the Garden History Society on all applications affecting registered sites, regardless of the grade of the site (see Central Government Circular 9/95, and summary in Environment Circular 14/97 /Culture, Media and Sport Circular 1/97).
Local authorities are also specifically guided towards protecting registered parks and gardens when preparing development plans (Planning Policy Guidance Note 15, 1.6; 2.1). As a result, most Local Plans now contain policies to help safeguard the historic parks and gardens which lie within the area covered. These usually stress in particular those sites included in the national Register, the best examples also covering parks and gardens of more local interest.
Why is a park or garden included on the Register, and who makes the decision?
Of the many parks and gardens throughout England which are of historic value, a small number are considered to be sufficiently important to be worth identifying by their inclusion on the national Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.
The decision as to whether a park or garden merits registration is based quite simply on an assessment by English Heritage as to whether it can be said to be of "special historic interest".
Any site which English Heritage assesses and finds to meet this criterion is added to the national list.
The majority of sites registered are, or started life as, the grounds of private houses, but public parks and cemeteries form important categories. Even two pumping stations and hospital landscapes are included, because they have skilfully-planned surroundings reflecting the landscaping fashions of their day.
As well as being of particular historic interest, registered sites might also be of note for other reasons such as their amenity value, or for nature conservation. Although not relevant to an assessment of the site in terms of the Register, such attributes need to be given consideration to ensure the sensitive management of the site.
What makes a park or garden of historic interest?
As a general rule, English Heritage considers all parks or gardens over 30 years old to be "historic". However just being over 30 years old does not, in itself, make a park or garden of special historic interest.
Whether or not a site merits national recognition through registration will depend primarily upon the age of its main layout and features, its rarity as an example of historic landscape design and the quality of the landscaping. For registration purposes, therefore, what makes a site of interest is the survival, quality, and interest of its historic structure. For a garden, the structure will usually include the basic pattern of its layout which might, for example, be formal with terraces, straight walks and hedges, formal pools and canals, or informal with winding paths through lawns, rockwork, and informally-planted trees and shrubberies. For a park it may include the historic boundaries and entrances, the routes of the approach drives and rides, the siting of the main buildings, the underlying landform, built features which provide structure and focal points in the design, lakes and rivers, and the planting of parkland trees, clumps, shelter belts, and woodland.
