A new Act that will improve the protection of Wales’ scheduled monuments, many of which stand on agricultural land, will become law today.
The Historic Environment (Wales) Act will simplify and modernise the current scheduled monument consent procedure, making it easier for landowners to obtain consent and carry out small-scale works of maintenance and repair that have been agreed in advance with the Welsh Government’s Historic Environment Service (Cadw).
Landowners and farmers with scheduled monuments on their land will also need to be aware that the Act will make it more difficult for individuals who damage protected monuments to escape prosecution by pleading ignorance of a monument’s status or location.
It will also introduce new powers so authorities can take urgent action to stop unauthorised work to historic sites and to prevent historic buildings from falling into disrepair.
The Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates said: “We recognise that the majority of people with scheduled monuments on their land understand their importance and take the correct measures to protect these.
“Strengthening the protection is not about causing more problems for responsible owners, but safeguarding our irreplaceable monuments so they can be cherished, studied and enjoyed for long generations to come.”
Owners should be well aware that a site is protected. Scheduled monuments are the subject of a local land charge at the time of scheduling and are periodically inspected by Cadw. Farmers receiving agri-environmental funding also receive information and maps showing scheduled monuments on their property.
Cadw will soon launch a publicly available designated assets website to provide details of the status, location and extent of all scheduled monuments. This will include those sites enjoying interim protection as a result of the Act’s new provisions to require consultation before a building is listed or a monument scheduled.
Prior to any new schedulings, owners and occupiers will receive guidance to inform them of their legal obligations and the consequences of breaching them, particularly the criminal offences.
