In addition to the listed buildings, there are many others which are valued by the local community for the contribution that they make to local history and sense of place. Their potential inclusion in a local list would afford them greater protection and ensure that decisions on matters that affect the building take account of their significance.
The local list comprises of buildings or structures that are not of sufficient merit to be statutorily listed but are seen to be of local historic or architectural significance. The Council will encourage the protection and enhancement of buildings on the local list in conjunction with local people.
The Historic England Advice Note 7: Local Heritage Listing provides advice and guidance on local heritage listing. It also provides a framework for a local community and a local planning authority to work together to identify heritage assets that are locally significant and assess their desirability for conservation. The document provides selection criteria for assessing the suitability of assets for local heritage listing and this is reproduced below:
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. Age does not necessarily mean that the building has to be many decades old with mid to late 20th Century buildings also able to be considered.
Rarity: Appropriate for all assets, as judged against local characteristics.
Aesthetic Interest: The intrinsic design value of an asset relating to local styles over its lifetime, materials or any other distinctive local characteristics. Linked to this is the authenticity of the remaining historic fabric and whether the building, structure, or landscape represents a good example of intact fixtures features and fittings which are authentic to the period. Group Value Groupings of assets with a clear visual design or historic relationship.
Archaeological Interest: The local heritage asset may provide evidence about past human activity in the locality, which may be archaeological – that is in the form of buried remains – but may also be revealed in the structure of buildings or in a manmade landscape. Heritage assets with archaeological interest are the primary source of evidence about the substance and evolution of places, and of the people and cultures that made them.
Archival Interest: The significance of a local heritage asset of any kind may be enhanced by a significant contemporary or historic written record.
Historical Association: The significance of a local heritage asset of any kind may be enhanced by a significant historical association of local or national note, including links to important local figures or events. Blue Plaque and other similar schemes may be relevant.
Designed Landscape Interest: The interest attached to locally important historic designed landscapes, parks and gardens which may relate to their design or social history. This may complement a local green space designation, which provides special protection against development for green areas of particular importance to local communities for their current use.
Landmark Status: An asset with strong communal or historical associations, or because it has an especially striking aesthetic value, may be singled out as a landmark within the local scene.
Social and Communal Value: Relating to places perceived as a source of local identity, distinctiveness, social interaction and coherence, sometimes residing in intangible aspects of heritage, contributing to the ‘collective memory’ of a place (such as an important memory or event which has associations with the building/monument/ landscape).