Local heritage surveys for WA councils.
Under the Heritage Act 2018, each local government in Western Australia must prepare a local heritage survey: a record of the places in its district that are, or may become, of cultural heritage significance. It sits alongside the heritage list kept under the local planning scheme, which identifies the places the planning system protects. Both depend on sound research, field inspection and clear place records.
Trace Archaeology prepares and reviews local heritage surveys and heritage lists for local governments, and carries out area-wide historic heritage surveys of precincts, towns and project areas. We assess all kinds of historic places, not only buildings: ruins and historical archaeological sites, cemeteries, gardens and cultural landscapes, roads, bridges and jetties, and industrial and agricultural sites. For a single building, see Built Heritage Assessments. To assess how a particular proposal affects a listed place, see Heritage Impact Statements.
What we do
- Prepare a new local heritage survey, or review and update an existing one, including older municipal heritage inventories.
- Assess places nominated by owners, the community or council, and recommend whether they belong on the survey, the heritage list, or neither.
- Prepare thematic histories that explain how a district developed and which places represent each theme.
- Write place records covering history, physical description, condition, integrity, authenticity and a statement of significance.
- Prepare information for owner and community consultation and for council reports.
- Survey the historic heritage of a project area for developers and agencies before designs are fixed.
How we assess
We start with the documentary record: certificates of title, historic plans and photographs, newspapers, local histories and any earlier heritage documentation. We then inspect each place to record what survives and how intact it is. Assessments apply the Heritage Council of WA's criteria (aesthetic, historic, scientific and social value) and the measures of degree that go with them (rarity, representativeness, condition, integrity and authenticity), and follow the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter.
Each place record sets out the evidence, the reasoning and a clear statement of significance, written so a council officer, an owner or an architect can follow it. Where the evidence does not support significance, the record says so.
Related projects: heritage assessment in Guildford and the search for the Guildford smugglers tunnel. See also our guide: is my property heritage listed in WA?
Trace Archaeology is a division of Trace Enterprises, which brings heritage, environmental and planning specialists together under one roof.
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Every heritage, environmental and planning project starts with the right conversation.
Tell us what you are planning and where. We'll tell you what assessments and approvals it needs, who should be involved and what happens next.