Policy information sourced from the Lewisham Local Plan

HE1 Lewisham’s historic environment

Strategic Objectives:

A An open Lewisham as part of an open London,

F Celebrating our local identity.

A The Council will seek to preserve or enhance the value and significance of Lewisham’s historic environment and its setting by:

  • Collaborating with stakeholders to identify, assess, monitor and review heritage assets and understand their importance to both the Borough and the nation;
  • Celebrating Lewisham’s historic environment and ensuring that it is central to reinforcing sense of place and place making;
  • Ensuring the significance of the Borough’s heritage assets is fully understood, positively valued and that their contribution to sustainable neighbourhoods and communities is recognised, including by preparing a Heritage Strategy;
  • Requiring that heritage meaningfully informs the design of development proposals, and only supporting development that preserves or enhances the significance of heritage assets and their setting;
  • Promoting heritage-led regeneration and urban renewal as a means to retain, reveal or reinstate significant aspects of the Borough’s historic environment;
  • Requiring development proposals to demonstrate that all reasonable measures have been investigated to avoid harm to heritage assets; and
  • Using planning powers available to appropriately manage new development in sensitive places and to remedy harmful unauthorised works.

B All development proposals in the historic environment should assess whether the site, building or structure is - or could be - identified as a heritage asset i.e. a building, monument, site, place, area or landscape identified as having a degree of heritage significance meriting consideration in planning decisions. This includes assets that are designated (e.g. Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas, Registered Parks and Gardens, Scheduled Ancient Monuments) as well as those that are non-designated (e.g. Locally Listed Buildings, Areas of Special Local Character and Archaeological Priority Areas). The Council will consider the significance of the asset and the impact of the proposals on its special interest. Any harm should be clearly and convincingly justified.

C Proposals for works that could impact on a heritage asset are required to be accompanied by a Heritage Statement. This should be compiled with reference to relevant and available sources of historic environment information, including Conservation Area Appraisals, and:

  • Explain the significance of the asset and its setting;
  • Set out how the asset has informed the design of the proposal; and
  • Assess the impact of the proposal on the asset

D Where a development proposal conflicts with the Development Plan but will secure the preservation of a heritage asset that is otherwise not financially viable to repair, the Council will assess whether the benefits of the proposal outweigh the disbenefits of departing from those policies.

For more information and policy context please see the Lewisham Local Plan