Wealden District Council
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Heritage

Wealden District has a rich heritage which is an important asset to be safeguarded and enhanced and is evident in its historic towns and villages; and within the historic rural landscape which stretches from the Kent border in the north, to Pevensey Bay in the south. The Government’s objective is that the historic environment should be conserved and enjoyed for the quality of life it brings to this and future generations.

The Government and has defined the historic environment as: ‘All aspects of the environment resulting from the interaction between people and places through time, including surviving physical remains of past human activity, whether visible, buried or submerged, and landscaped and planted or managed flora National Planning Policy Framework 

A snapshot of the heritage that can be found within Wealden includes:

  • Evidence for human settlement and activity from Prehistoric through to Post Medieval Periods.
  • Over 2000 Listed Buildings
  • 20 Historic Parks and Gardens
  • 104 Scheduled Monuments
  • 33 designated Conservation Areas (not including the South Downs National Park Authority area)
  • Non-designated and locally designated heritage assets
  • Areas of archaeological potential and interest, many identified as Archaeological Notification Areas (ANAs)
  • Industrial, economic and agricultural uses and impacts
  • Trading
  • Transport
  • Military History
  • Influence of famous people and notable local figures throughout history
  • High Weald designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) to the north
  • Low Weald non-designated landscape area to the southeast
  • Pevensey Levels Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) to the south
  • Large number of historic settlements.

For more details information on the rich heritage in Wealden, a brief timeline of historic settlement and activity in Wealden has been compiled.

What is a Heritage Asset?

A Heritage Asset is a building, monument, site, place, area or landscape identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions, because of its heritage interest.

These Heritage pages provide information on Heritage Assets in the Wealden District, which include:

  • listed buildings
  • conservation areas
  • scheduled monuments and areas of archaeological potential and interest
  • unlisted buildings of historic interest (referred to as non-designated assets)
  • historic parks and gardens

When an application affects a heritage asset, a heritage statement will be required.

Advice on works to listed buildings is also available and includes information within the Council’s heritage webpages and advice from Historic England.

Please note: Wealden District Council does not provide advice on Listed Buildings located within the South Downs National Park. Please refer to the South Downs National Park website for further advice and information.

The Council has two conservation officers. Their role is to provide advice to planning officers as an internal consultee on matters relating to the Historic Environment, on a without prejudice basis, on proposals relating to listed buildings and works to buildings and structures in conservation areas.

The conservation officers are also responsible for preparing the Conservation Area Character Appraisal documents and management plan for the 33 Conservation Areas in the District.

Use our online mapping system to find out if you are in a Conservation Area.  To search please enter your address or postcode in the centre box, then click on Local Knowledge on the menu bar on the top left hand corner of the page. One of the information boxes as you scroll down tells you if you are in a Conservation Area.