A draft legislation has been published which seeks to unify heritage protection regimes, allow greater public involvement in decisions and place heritage at the heart of the planning system.

The draft Heritage Protection Bill will now be scrutinised by the UK Parliament and is the first dealing with the historic environment for a generation.

The aim of the Bill is to put in place a unified heritage protection system for England and Wales that is easier to understand than the current separate systems of listing buildings, scheduling ancient monuments, designating wrecks and registering historic parks, gardens and landscapes. It also aims to be more efficient, accountable and transparent, with improved opportunities for public inclusion and involvement.


Central to these proposals is a new unified Register of Heritage Assets for Wales, which will be available on line and, for the first time, will have information available in one place on all land and marine heritage assets of special interest in Wales.

Heritage Minister, Rhodri Glyn Thomas, said: "Wales has a rich and varied historic environment. It is one of our greatest assets and it is vital that it is protected so we - and future generations - can better understand and appreciate our distinctive heritage.

"I welcome the publication of this draft Bill which brings heritage protection firmly into the 21st Century, with greater accountability and community involvement. Its flexible framework allows for different approaches in Wales to take account of different practice and circumstances here."

(JM)