Heritage Consultancy Services · Conservation Management Plans
Conservation management plans for historic places.
A conservation management plan (CMP) is the strategic document that sets out what is significant about a historic building or site, the policies that protect that significance, and the framework for change over time. We prepare CMPs for owners, estates, and public bodies who need a single reference document that the local authority and Historic England both recognise.
We respond within one working day leading to a no obligation outline approach.
A conservation management plan is the long-view document. Where a heritage impact assessment supports a single application, a CMP supports a programme of change: phased works, multiple buildings on a site, an estate strategy, an institutional asset. Once adopted, the CMP becomes the reference point that owners, agents, and local authorities all return to.
It saves cost over time because every subsequent change is framed against an agreed assessment of significance, rather than reopened from scratch.
When a CMP makes sense
When a conservation management plan applies.
Phased projects on a single asset
Where a Grade I or Grade II* listed building is undergoing a phased programme of works, repair, adaptation or change of use, a CMP gives the local authority a stable framework to assess each phase against. Each subsequent application can reference the adopted plan rather than rebuild the case.
Estates and multi-building sites
Country estates, institutional campuses, military sites, and ecclesiastical estates often hold multiple heritage assets in one curtilage. A CMP provides the single reference document that addresses how the assets relate, what is significant about each, and how change should be managed across the whole.
Grant-funded and institutional projects
For buildings on the Heritage at Risk Register, and for projects seeking funding from Historic England or the National Lottery Heritage Fund, a CMP is often a condition of the grant. Local authorities, NHS trusts, universities and charitable trusts also use CMPs to govern their heritage estate as part of their asset management framework.
What’s in the document
A conservation management plan built around significance.
1.
Understanding the place
A structured account of the building or site: history, fabric, archaeology, and landscape where relevant. The first half of any good CMP is the assessment of what is there.
2.
Statement of significance
A clear, prioritised statement of what is significant about the place and why. Heritage values, attributes, and levels of significance, mapped to specific features, rooms, structures and spaces. This is the document everyone returns to.
3.
Vulnerabilities and conservation policies
What is at risk, fabric in poor condition, settings under pressure, uses no longer viable, set against the opportunities for sympathetic adaptation, public access or grant funding. From this follows a set of conservation policies: the framework against which subsequent applications are judged, tied to the significance assessment and written so an agent or architect can use them.
4.
Action plan and review schedule
The practical part. Priorities, sequencing, who does what, and when the plan should be reviewed. The CMP is a living document; the action plan keeps it that way.
What to expect
From instruction to adoption.
i.
Single building CMP
For a Grade II or Grade II* listed building of moderate complexity, eight to twelve weeks from instruction to a final draft for client review. Site visits and archive research in the first month, significance and policy work in the second, refinement and consultation in the third.
ii.
Estate or multi-building CMP
For estates, institutional campuses, or sites with multiple heritage assets, twelve to twenty weeks is realistic. Phased delivery is often appropriate: significance assessment first, policy and action plan second.
Most CMPs benefit from consultation with the local authority, Historic England, and where relevant other statutory bodies, which we build into the timeline at the outset. Tell us about the place and we’ll tell you what’s realistic.
Once adopted, the plan becomes the reference point that owners, agents and authorities all return to.
Recent work
A conservation management plan that framed a programme.
Nash Court
Grade II* listed manor house. Conservation management plan for a phased programme.
A conservation management plan for Nash Court, a Grade II* listed manor house, adopted as the framework for a phased redevelopment programme. The plan set out the significance of the house and grounds, and the policies against which each subsequent phase is assessed.
View the project →Browse conservation management plan projects by
Common questions
Conservation management plan FAQs.
What’s the difference between a CMP and a heritage impact assessment?
How long does a CMP last?
Who adopts a CMP?
How much does a CMP cost?
Can I use the CMP to apply for grant funding?
Does a CMP need to be reviewed?
Get in touch
Tell us about the place. We’ll tell you what’s involved.
Most enquiries get a written outline approach within 24 hours. Working in London? Meet our heritage consultants in London.
To get a fast outline approach, share:
- The address of the building or estate
- What’s listed or designated, and at what level
- What you’re planning over the next five years
- Your role: owner, developer, architect, or public body