Historic Environment (Wales) Bill clarifies Welsh heritage legislation

On 28 March the Senedd passed the Historic Environment (Wales) Bill, the first of an intended series of Consolidation Bills which will replace UK legislation with new reorganised Wales-only legislation (planning law is to follow). As a Consolidation Bill, the Historic Environment Bill is only allowed to restate, not amend, the previous legislation, but the CLA heritage adviser, Jonathan Thompson, sat on the Bill's stakeholder group, and read through the 1,000+ pages of documents to guard against potentially-adverse changes. We secured some important clarifications, especially in the key listed buildings clause, where the insertion of the word 'ancillary' should make it much more difficult for your local authority to claim that a barn or other building near a listed building "is curtilage-listed" where it is not, a major issue for many CLA members. We are also securing improvements to heritage guidance alongside the Bill. The Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent in May. "