The Registration Process
If this initial investigation suggests that the park or garden is of a sufficiently high level of historic interest, we will contact the main owner(s) to request a site visit. Although English Heritage is not obliged to visit a site prior to its inclusion in the Register, a visit is not only of help in judging the quality of the landscape, but also most importantly, it can provide an opportunity to meet the owner(s) and/or managers of the site.
Should it not prove possible to arrange a site visit, then the site will usually be viewed, if necessary and so far as is possible, from public vantage points and rights of way.
Further research to fill in any vital gaps in our knowledge follows, then a report with accompanying recommendation is compiled. Through the National Heritage Act 1983, the power to include a site on the Register rests with English Heritage. The decision is made by the Head of Parks and Gardens Register. Any cases where the decision is not clear cut are considered further by the Historic Parks and Gardens Advisory Panel, English Heritage's panel of experts on the subject.
Where a park or garden is found to be of sufficient historic interest to merit registration, site details are added to the national Register database, and the site is deemed to be registered. A formal letter of notification is sent out to all known owners and long-term occupiers of the site. The notification letter is accompanied by a draft Register text describing the site and a draft site boundary map, on which comments are invited. The local planning authorities at district, unitary, and county levels (as relevant) are also notified at this point, and are sent copies of the draft text and map. Following receipt of comments the Register entry is finalised and the confirmed version of text and map are issued.
Information on new additions to the Register are sent regularly to, amongst others, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport; the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions; the Garden History Society and the relevant County Gardens Trust.
Spot-registration
Spot-registration is the fast-track means by which a site can be assessed for inclusion in the national list. Should a currently unregistered site under consideration for spot-registration prove to be of registerable quality, it can be registered promptly, usually within one month, to confirm its national importance.
This emergency procedure is normally used either where there is a firm commitment to seek grant-aid for repairs from major grant giving bodies, or where there is an immediate prospect of development or change which might potentially be harmful to the historic interest of the site. Registration helps in this situation to bring attention to a site's importance. Requests for assessment of a site for spot-registration are welcome from any interested or concerned party.
