REVIT Heritage Report.pdf

Torfaen County Borough Council
REVIT: A Review of the Conservation of Industrial Heritage Assets on Brownfield Sites
of small-scale evaluations on listed archaeological monuments or underwater
sites.
3.6.5 In addition ROB acts as an archaeological centre of excellence and provides a
centralised inventory of all archaeological sites within the Archis digital
database. This information system is centrally organised, maintained and
developed, but is becoming partially decentralised. The database contains the
latest archaeological information and the tracking of known and potential
archaeological sites.
3.6.6 Data is provided through the Indicative Map of Archaeological Values (IKAW)
which provides information on the heritage value of sites with the aim of
ensuring that this is incorporated into the planning process. The local and
provincial authorities take responsibility for managing their own archaeological
values and adding archaeological interests in zoning and regional plans. In
land-use planning, ROB acts as a legal advisor for environmental impact
assessment and has a permanent seat on the Provincial Planning Committees.
3.6.7 The built heritage is managed by the Department for Conservation (Rijksdienst
voor de Monumentenzorg, RDMZ), which is part of the Ministry of Education,
Culture and Science. RDMZ, which was established in 1947, is responsible for
protecting and conserving the built heritage including protected historic
buildings, townscapes and landscapes.
3.6.8 RDMZ also awards some grants for the restoration and maintenance of historic
buildings, carries out scientific research in conservation, and gives advice in
technical, cultural and historical, legal, urban planning matters.
3.6.9 In addition, the Municipal Department for the Preservation and Restoration of
Monuments and Sites, which was founded in 1953, can list monuments and
buildings at risk, which urgently require restoration and is the lead organization
for supporting building conservation and repair.
3.6.10 Nationwide, there are some 1000 other private organisations (NGOs) which
deal with the special categories or sectors of the cultural heritage.
Legal Framework
3.6.11 The Historic Buildings and Monuments Act (Monumentenwet) of 1988 forms
the legislative framework for the protection of the archaeological sites and the
built heritage in the Netherlands. This act has been superseded by a new
Monuments and Historic Buildings Act, in order to implement the tenants of the
Malta Convention (1992).
3.6.12 The Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act gives the following
definition of historic buildings and sites: "all objects at least fifty years old which
are of general interest because of their aesthetic value, their scientific interest
or their cultural-historical significance". An object which meets the above
criteria, however, is only a protected historic building or site if it is officially
added to the list of such sites.
3.6.13 In addition to providing statutory protection to single buildings and sites, the
Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act can list larger areas as
"protected cityscapes", if they are considered to be of high architectural or
cultural-historic value.
3.6.14 The archaeological heritage is partly protected under the Monuments and
Historic Buildings Act together with the World Heritage Convention. Any
planned activities that may disturb a protected archaeological site requires a
permit from the ROB which champions preservation of sites in situ.
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