Client
Trinity House
Local Authority
East Sussex County Council
Sectors
Infrastructure
Key Project Information
- Trinity House sought advice regarding the heritage significance of the offshore Royal Sovereign Lighthouse and the obtaining of a Certification of Immunity application.
- Our Built Heritage experts undertook a detailed assessment of the building, including a site visit and background research, in order to advise the client and successfully obtain a Certificate of Immunity from Historic England.
- This allowed Trinity House to progress their plans for decommissioning with the security of knowing that the significance of the building had already been established and that there was no risk of the structure being designated during the planning or (de)construction phases.
- The information prepared by our teams also reduced client costs by way of being of sufficient detail to prevent the need for Historic England to visit the lighthouse to inform their assessment.
Our heritage experts undertook a detailed analysis of the physical fabric of the structure, and research into its construction and contemporary structures, in order to provide an assessment of its overall architectural and historic interest. Historic England guidance on 20th maritime infrastructure is limited; however, the Heritage Team were able to draw upon their extensive knowledge of 20th century structures and understanding of guidance for the assessment of significance.
The resulting Statement of Significance formed part of a submission to Historic England for a Certificate of Immunity against Listing of the structure. This was subsequently granted based upon the information provided by our team. The latter included a detailed photographic survey and description of the structure (including historic and current plans) in order for Historic England to make their decision without visiting the Lighthouse, with this preventing the need for the client to arrange a costly offshore site visit.
The obtaining of the Certificate of Immunity allowed Trinity House to progress their plans for decommissioning with the security of knowing that the significance of the building had already been established and that there was no risk of the structure being designated during the planning or (de)construction phases.
Image courtesy of Trinity House.