Heritage consultants bring in expertise and ‘know how’, providing guidance in facilitating a sound and balanced heritage outcome.
Heritage consultants are from a variety of backgrounds including historians, architects, archaeologists, landscape architects, environmental managers, engineers, town planners, and more.
The task of the heritage consultant is one that carries important responsibilities – finding an appropriate balance between meeting the needs of the Client and ensuring the interest of heritage itself is not neglected.
When dealing with a known or potential heritage item or place, engaging the services of a heritage consultant can provide:
- expert advice and guidance;
- project feasibility and design advice;
- clarity and certainty in the development assessment process;
- robust and high level heritage management and assessment reports.
When should a heritage consultant be engaged?
Heritage consultants are engaged at various stages of a project and provide a range of services and expertise in various ways. This can include:
Strategic heritage services
The identification of heritage items and heritage conservation areas begins with a strategic level heritage study to identify items and places that are significant to a local community or area. Such heritage studies then underpin the heritage listings in a Local Environmental Plan.
A Heritage Consultant can work directly with Council to assist in the formulation of a heritage study or the establishment of development controls to guide and inform a Development Control Plan.
When dealing with heritage items or places, a Heritage Consultant can prepare heritage management plans and strategies which provide longer term guidance for the conservation and management of a heritage item or place.
Pre-purchase and pre-design
Prior to the purchase of a heritage item, potential heritage item or an item within a heritage conservation area, a heritage consultant can provide pre-purchase (due diligence) advice on the implications of heritage listings, statutory obligations and planning requirements, potential heritage constraints and general advice.
When considering alterations and additions or new development, engaging a Heritage Consultant to provide pre-design advice can add value, reduce delays and avoid disappointment by establishing what the significance of the building or place involved is, and providing clear parameters in which development can occur without adversely compromising on the significance. Pre-design advice informs the architect or draftsperson and reduces potential delays in ‘revisiting the drawing board’.
Design
During the design stage, a Heritage Consultant can provide advice and guidance on the suitability of the proposed design, choice of materials and finishes and provide recommendations to mitigate potential heritage impacts through visual impacts or material affectation.
Statutory approvals
When dealing with an item or place of heritage significance, a Heritage Consultant can prepare a heritage impact assessment to accompany a Development Application.
Once a development consent has been issued, the Consent Authority can often require further heritage management, assessment or archival reports to be prepared as part of a development consent condition.
Construction and conservation works
A Heritage Consultant can provide technical advice during construction, on-going maintenance and conservation works, providing technical advice on materials and fabric conservation, construction methods and techniques and general advice.
Tags: heritage advice, heritage consultant, heritage projects, pre-purchase