A Heritage Impact Statement (HIS) – also known as a Statement of Heritage Impact (SOHI) – is a document which conveys what is the likely impact or impacts of a proposal of work to a heritage property or area.
The impact can be rated as a negative, a neutral or a positive impact on the significance of the place.
The report forms a regular part of the approval process and it is normally provided as a separate document to a Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE).
Your approval authority may request a HIS for every development proposal application, but it is commonly only requested for proposals to a heritage item, to a property located in heritage conservation area or a property located adjacent to a heritage item.
What needs to be included in a HIS?
The exact requirements for a HIS varies from property to property. A state listed item will require more information than a property in a local conservation area. As a minimum, a HIS must include:
- What is the level of significance of the site, is it an item of heritage significance, or a property located within a conservation area, or is it located adjacent to a heritage item;
- A short history of the item or area;
- The Statement of Significance of that item or conservation area;
- A short description of the proposal;
- What is the likely impact of the proposal on the significance of the place;
- What measure are proposed to mitigate those impacts; and
- Why more sympathetic options are not viable.
Where the work is minor, or it involves an item of local significance, the HIS can be based on the information available within the listing. However, for a more complex proposal, or one that impacts a state listed item, a more detailed document such as a Heritage Assessment or a Conservation Management Plan may be required.
HIS experts
Arcade is a dedicated Heritage Architecture firm and experts in preparing Heritage Impact Statements.
As Heritage Architects, we not only have all the knowledge of a heritage consultant, but we also understand how a building is put together and all the restrictions of modern day regulations and requirements.
If you are after a good quality Heritage Impact Statement with some out of the box heritage advice to boot, get in touch to discuss how we help you.