England is a historic country and our system for protecting the best of the past has been emulated around the world.

So why change it?

We can be proud of our system of heritage protection and the role it has played in celebrating and protecting England’s culture and history.  However, the current system has grown up piecemeal over the last 120 years, has become complicated to use and is not as transparent or efficient as it could be. 

What is English Heritage doing?

Since 2000, we have been improving the way heritage is looked after and identified.  We are doing what we can to help make the system simpler to use and more up-to-date with the modern planning process.  We are also opening up the system: providing opportunities for consultation and explanation, and giving more support to Local Authorities at the front line of heritage protection.

Some changes under Heritage Protection Reform have already been achieved, and some will take place under future planning policy statements and guidance, heritage protection legislation and our own projects, including the training and supporting of local authority historic environment services. 

What is in the programme of Heritage Protection Reform?

There are three strands of activity that make up our programme of Heritage Protection Reform. Information on all of these and more is available from the English Heritage Heritage Protection Reform web pages.