Have your say on Cambridgeshire heritage protection

Anyone interested in helping to preserve Cambridgeshire’s local heritage is now being given the chance to have their say.

Cambridgeshire residents are being asked for their views on which buildings, structures, archaeological sites and landscapes they value, and feel are important to the character of their local areas, as part of a new local heritage listing project.

The project received funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (now the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) which invited councils in England to create pilot projects for local heritage lists in their areas. Cambridgeshire’s joint bid was one of the 22 successful projects to secure funding.

Cambridgeshire has many locally important heritage assets, which may be buildings, archaeological remains, parks, gardens, or public works of art, sometimes with little or no protection, and over time these special places can be lost. By adding these heritage assets to local heritage lists their local importance will be officially recognised in the planning process.

A new website has been launched (local-heritage-list.org.uk/cambridgeshire) with guidance on how you can get involved in the initiative and nominate buildings and archaeological sites to be considered for the list.

Cllr Lorna Dupré, chair of the environment and green investment committee for Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “We are really keen to find out what local heritage assets people think are important and in particular to hear from a wide range of people from across the community.

“The project officer, Jessica Johnston, will be out and about in the community encouraging people to get involved. People can comment on the proposals already made or they can nominate a building or structure by completing a nomination form. We also have a number of volunteer roles for anyone with a particular interest in heritage.”

The nominations will be considered by an assessment panel comprising local project volunteers, as well as heritage professionals to check that they satisfy the criteria for selection. These selected candidates will be taken forward by the individual district councils for adoption on to a local list.

For more information, go to local-heritage-list.org.uk/cambridgeshire, or email the project officer at jessica.johnston@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.

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