Volunteers needed to help build Local Heritage List for Bucks

More than 2,000 sites and assets have been nominated for inclusion on Buckinghamshire’s Local Heritage List.

Now Buckinghamshire Council is looking for volunteers to nominate more, and assess those already nominated.

Bucks Council is using funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to improve its Local Heritage List.

The list seeks to identify and celebrate locally significant assets - including historic buildings, archaeological sites, landscape features, historic parks and gardens.

To date, more than 2,000 assets have been nominated for Buckinghamshire’s Local Heritage List, including clocktowers, road signs, postboxes, bridges and lamp posts, as well as historic buildings and archaeological sites.

The project team is now looking for volunteers to help identify and assess important local assets.

Deputy council leader and cabinet member for planning and regeneration, Gareth Williams, said: “Buckinghamshire is a county that is rich with history and has many heritage assets that contribute to the local character and identity of the county and would benefit from being ‘listed’.

"I am pleased that so many nominations have been made and am looking forward to see which of them are selected for the final list.

"The value of maintaining a Local Heritage List has already been proven in Buckinghamshire, as we have seen planning decisions made by the council to protect those buildings on the list being supported by independent planning inspectors."

And he added: "Volunteering with our Local Heritage team to help us compile this list is a unique opportunity to help preserve and protect some of the most important and iconic assets around the county.

"If you have some spare time and would like to get involved, I encourage you to sign up.”

Martin Maund, chairman of the Taplow Neighbourhood Plan Working Party is a project volunteer.

He said: “The Local Heritage List is such an important project as so much of our deeply valued heritage has been lost over the years.

"There is still so much at risk and we have to try and preserve it for the future; for our children and their children’s children.

"Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.

“The website is straightforward to follow and is quite intuitive when making nominations, with an online guide on how to use it available, and helpful questions to consider when completing Assessment Criteria sections.

“I can only commend the heritage team for the way they’ve set things up and the detail they’ve gone to with the system in such a short space of time.

"We have found dealing with them a pleasure and would like to thank the entire heritage team for the sterling work they are doing, which they are obviously very passionate about.”

For more information on the Local Heritage List or to register an interest in volunteering, visit local-heritage-list.org.uk/buckinghamshire or email [email protected]