An island for around 10,000 years and on the edge of the north west European landmass for hundreds of millenia before that, Britain’s maritime heritage is an extremely rich source of knowledge about our past. It includes submerged remains of prehistoric landscapes, through shipwrecks from the earliest periods, the archaeology and built heritage of our major ports and minor harbours as well as vessels and layer upon layer of coastal defence.

The seas surrounding our coast have served as both a highway and a barrier for many centuries; their numerous shallow estuaries have been as much an invitation as an impediment to sea-bourne visitors, whether invader, trader, or immigrant. The intimately linked combination of British naval power and interests in maritime trade led to an Industrial Revolution and Empire which influenced world history.

Maritime Archaeology

With the passing of the 2002 National Heritage Act, English Heritage assumed responsibilities for archaeological remains below mean low water within UK territorial waters adjacent to England, allowing its management to become integrated with that of the terrestrial historic environment.
The organisation’s functions were modified to include:

• Securing the preservation of ancient monuments in, on, or under the seabed;
• Promoting the public’s enjoyment of, and advancing their knowledge of ancient monuments in, on, or under the seabed

The definition of an ancient monument was also amended to include any site comprising, or comprising the remains of, any vehicle, vessel, aircraft or other movable structure or part thereof. Another significant change allowed, UK-wide, administrative responsibilities in support of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, on a UK-wide basis, to be transferred from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to English Heritage.

English Heritage has made significant advances against a backdrop of ever-expanding interest in, and exploitation of, the marine environment and a growing understanding of the archaeological potential and importance of what lies within it. A policy position is set out in Taking to the Water. English Heritage Initial Policy for the Management of Maritime Archaeology in England (2002) while the wider policy background to English Heritage’s approach is framed by UK Government’s adoption of Annex to the Unesco Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage 2001 as best practice for underwater archaeology.

Coastal heritage

Natural erosion, Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) schemes and commercial developments all pose risks for coastal heritage assets. English Heritage provides advice on the implications of these factors for the historic environment at a strategic and scheme-specific level.

We are commissioning a series of Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Surveys (RCZAS), intended to enhance the National Monuments Record (NMR) and local authority Historic Environment Records (HERs), and to aid conservation of heritage assets in the coastal zone. By September 2010 surveys had been completed or were underway in all parts of the country with the exception of the South-West peninsula, where work is scheduled to begin in 2011/12. Reports are available on www.english-heritage.org.uk (search for RCZAS).

In addition, English Heritage is undertaking a GIS-based Coastal Estate Risk Assessment (CERA) for its own properties, drawing on data supplied by the Environment Agency: principally Floodzones and Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping. This project is due to report in 2011 and will provide a basis for long-term planning. Further projects to prioritise and value a wider range of heritage assets detected during the RCZAS have been included in the draft National Heritage Protection Plan and will be implemented as funding permits.

The English Heritage guidance Coastal Defence and the Historic Environment: English Heritage Guidance (2003) is now out of date and will be replaced. Meanwhile the principles underpinning English Heritage’s approach to the management of coastal heritage assets, which will inform new guidance, are set out in the Defra document Adapting to Coastal Change: Developing a Policy Framework (March 2010, pp. 41-5). The basic principles of technical feasibility, long-term sustainability, and cost effectiveness will continue to underpin English Heritage’s approach when participating in the development of schemes to protect the historic environment, or to mitigate unavoidable damage.

The Defra-led Shoreline Managment Plan (SMP) review programme is now close to completion and has been supported by Shoreline Management Plan Review and the Historic Environment: English Heritage Guidance ((June 2006), with substantial input to the review process by English Heritage Regional Teams. Given the varied and often conflicting objectives of SMPs, which set out the high-level strategies for FCERM, ensuring adequate consideration of the historic environment poses challenges; but English Heritage is committed to continued participation in this process, currently by involvement in the Environment Agency Coastal Infrastructure Sustainability Working Group.

Marine Controls

We are working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to deliver various themes of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 such as: the UK Marine Policy Statement; a new marine planning framework (as provided for in section 54 of the 2009 Act); a reformed system of marine development licensing; the identification of Marine Conservation Zones; and the integration of cultural heritage within the management of inshore fisheries within 6 nautical miles (nm).

English Heritage is a specialist advisor to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) for the English area of the UK Territorial Sea and we offer advice, without prejudice, for relevant licensable activities that occur within the adjacent UK marine area (which extends to 200nm offshore or the median line with an adjacent state). The MMO administers a range of statutory controls (other than oil and gas licensing which is retained by Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)) that apply to marine projects, including:

• seabed and foreshore construction;
• coastal flood risk management works;
• navigation and aggregate dredging; and
• the disposal of waste materials in the sea.

This is done on behalf of the Secretary of State Defra, and covers the UK marine area, not subject to devolved administration. In addition, the MMO will administer the Harbours Act 1964 on behalf of Secretary of State Department for Transport for projects that do not require consideration by the Infrastructure Planning Commission (to be replaced by the Major Infrastructure Unit within the Planning Inspectorate).

Projects that are proposed at sea or elsewhere in tidal waters, including operations within the inter-tidal area are subject to a range of statutory controls administered by the MMO. Previously these were dealt with through licence under the Coast Protection Act 1949 and the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985, but from April 2011 these two regimes were merged and reformed to create a single marine development licence.

The requirement for a marine licence will be determined by the nature and scale of the planned activity and its geographical location. It is important to highlight that in the Marine and Coastal Act 2009, section 66(8) identifies licensable activities as inclusive of the use of ‘a vehicle, vessel, aircraft, marine structure or floating container to remove any substance or object from the sea bed within the UK marine licensing area.’ Section 66(9) also sets out that ‘to carry out any form of dredging within the UK marine licensing area (whether or not involving the removal of any material from the sea or sea bed)’ is licensable marine activity. Section 69 details how the appropriate licensing authority in determining an application must have regard to ‘the need to protect the environment’ which is defined in section 115(2) as inclusive of ‘any site (including any site comprising, or comprising the remains of, any vessel, aircraft or marine structure) which is of historic or archaeological interest.’ Consequently we recommend that advice be sought from the Marine Management Organisation's Marine Consents Team to determine whether such consent is required.

To explain the importance of the historic environment, English Heritage has worked with various marine industrial interests such as the British Marine Aggregate Producers Association to produce Marine Aggregate Dredging and the Historic Environment: guidance note (2003) and the COWRIE group (comprising DECC, The Crown Estate and offshore wind farm developers to commission guidance to inform offshore renewable energy projects. We have also worked with non-government bodies such as the Joint Nautical Archaeological Policy Committee to develop and promote the Code of Practice for Seabed Developers (2006).

Historic Vessels and Designation

The UK National Register of Historic Vessels (NRHV) is championed by National Historic Ships – the body charged by Government since 2006 to administer the Register on behalf of the Secretary of State and to advise on all matters relating to historic vessels in the UK, including funding and conservation priorities.

In order to be included on the NRHV, vessels must meet certain criteria. A sub-group of Registered vessels, some 200 craft which comprise the National Historic Fleet, are distinguished by being of pre-eminent national or regional significance.

Registered historic ships date from the late seventeenth century and represent many types and periods. Some registered historic ships are highly mobile and still in use either commercially, or in private ownership. There are some statutory heritage powers that may offer protection for historic ships in England: the ability to schedule or designate historic wreck sites, and occasionally to list vessels where they can be regarded as permanently fixed structures which have effectively entered the planning system. Such Registered vessels include the scheduled Harriett (Gloucestershire), the listed Cutty Sark (Greenwich) and the protected wreck Mary Rose (Spithead).

Any site comprising the remains of a vessel may be considered for scheduling as a monument, although considerable selection is necessary. Alongside statutory designation is a broader approach to identifying significance in the historic environment which is of particular relevance to static vessels and wrecks. Planning Policy Statement 5 (PPS5): Planning for the Historic Environment (March 2010) defines a heritage asset as being either a ‘building, monument, site, place, area or landscape positively identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions. Heritage assets are the valued components of the historic environment.’

Registered historic vessels that are now permanently fixed to the ground or another permanent structure may fall within the definition of a building and therefore could be treated as such under PPS5 and the local development framework.

It is therefore advisable to record all historic vessels in the relevant historic environment records so that their existence is visible and understood thereby ensuring that their significance is taken into account in any planning application that might affect them or their setting.

Further Advice

For general enquiries concerning England’s maritime or coastal heritage, contact your nearest English Heritage regional office or the Maritime Archaeology/Coastal policy team at:
maritime@english-heritage.org.uk.