Heritage Assets

6Glossary of Terms
Archaeological Interest: Evidence a heritage asset may hold of past human activity. 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. These heritage assets are part of the record of the past
that begins with traces of early humans and continues to be created and destroyed.
Architectural and Artistic Interest: These are interests in the design and general aesthetics of a place.
They can arise from conscious design or fortuitously from the way the heritage asset has evolved.
More specifically, architectural interest is an interest in the art or science of the design, construction,
craftsmanship and decoration of buildings and structures of all types. Artistic interest or other creative
skills, such as pottery, ceramic tiles or sculpture.
Article 4 Directions: Additional planning controls removing Permitted Development Rights from buildings
or areas to ensure the retention of traditional details.
Buildings of Local Architectural or Historic Interest: Historically buildings identified by the Local Planning
Authority as being important to the history and character of their local environment. Such buildings have
been placed on a ‘local list’ but are not of sufficient merit to justify being placed on the national Statutory
List. These are now known as Heritage Assets.
Built Heritage: The stock of historic buildings, street furniture, bridges, industrial structures, monuments
and other manmade features not only within the Borough of Poole but throughout the country.
Conservation Area: A Designated Asset for an area of townscape either urban or rural which, because of
its special architectural and historic character, is considered worthy of preservation and enhancement.
Development Plan Documents (DPDs): Spatial planning documents subject to independent examination
and prepared by the relevant plan-making authority.
Conservation: The process of maintaining and managing change to a heritage asset in a way that sustains
and where appropriate enhances its significance.
Designated Heritage Asset: A World Heritage Site, Scheduled Monument, Listed Building, Protected
Wreck Site, Registered Park and Garden, Registered Battlefield or Conservation Area, which has been
recognised as such under the relevant legislation.
Enabling Development: Development that would be unacceptable in planning terms, but for the fact
that it would bring heritage assets benefits sufficient to justify it being carried out and which could not
otherwise be achieved.
Heritage Asset: A building, monument, site, place area or landscape positively identified as having a degree
of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions. Heritage Assets are valued components of the
historic environment. They include designated heritage assets and further assets identified by the local
planning authority during the process of decision making or through the plan-making process, including
local listing.
Historic Environment: All aspects of the environment results from the interaction between people and
places through time, including all surviving physical remains of past human activity, whether visible, buried
or submerged, and landscaped and planted or managed flora. Those elements of the historic environment
that hold significance are called heritage assets.
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