Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023
The Historic Environment (Wales) Bill was introduced into Senedd Cymru on 4 July 2022, passed on 28 March 2023 and received Royal Assent on 14 June 2023.
This is the first consolidated legislation in the Welsh Government’s initial five-year programme to improve the accessibility of Welsh law. This historic piece of legislation provides fully bilingual, orderly and accessible law for the effective protection and management of our unique historic environment so that it can continue to contribute to the well-being of Wales and its people.
The full text of the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023 is available on the Senedd website and on legislation.gov.uk.
Also available on legislation.gov.uk are supporting documents that will help you better understand the legislation and its drafting:
- Explanatory notes — specific commentary on provisions that should be read in conjunction with the Act
- Drafters’ notes — commentary on decisions taken in the drafting of the legislation
- Table of origins — legislative source of provisions in the Act
- Table of destinations — location in the Act of provisions in existing legislation.
Although the Act has received Royal Assent, it will not come into force until supporting secondary legislation has been made and guidance and administrative documents have been revised and updated to reflect its passage. It is expected that the Act will come into force in the latter part of 2024. Cadw will raise awareness of the new legislation and publicise the date when it will come into force.
If you want to keep up to date with progress on the implementation of the Act, subscribe to our Historic Environment Update