Registered historic parks and gardens
The Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023 places a duty upon the Welsh Ministers to maintain and publish a register of parks and gardens of special historic interest in Wales. It also includes:
- designed ornamental landscapes
- places of recreation
- other designed grounds.
The statutory register came into force on 1 February 2022, and replaced a non-statutory register. It includes nearly 400 sites across Wales and continues to be an active record, incorporating new sites as they are identified.
The statutory register does not impose any new legal restrictions on Wales’ historic parks and gardens or introduce a new consent regime. Registered sites receive protection through the planning system, and planning authorities are expected to take the register into account when preparing local development plans. The effect of a proposed development on a registered site or its setting may also be a ‘material consideration’ in the determination of a planning application.
A listed building or scheduled monument within the confines of a registered historic park or garden will be subject to all relevant consent procedures.
For further information, download our best-practice guidance, Managing Change to Registered Historic Parks and Gardens in Wales.