A Heritage Statement is an assessment of the significance of heritage assets and/or their settings affected by a development, and of the impacts of that development upon them.

Apart from the need to comply with the NPPF, the Heritage Statement is an important practical tool to guide an applicant in developing their proposals. As good practice, it should therefore be one of the first things that an applicant considers when beginning to formulate their development proposals of a designated or non-designated heritage asset.

Heritage Statements do not achieve their full purpose or value if they are prepared only between finalising plans and submitting them to a local planning authority, and their early inclusion can have the benefit of not only reducing the planning risk but also identifying opportunity to add value and remove cost.