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  • Open consultation Consultation on a Historic Environment Policy for Northern Ireland

    Topics:
    • Historic environment

    Consultation closes 23 October 2026, 11.59 pm

    Summary

    The Department for Communities is seeking views on the direction and priorities for Historic Environment Policy for Northern Ireland.

    Documents

    • Historic Environment Policy for Northern Ireland - Background to Public Consultation Adobe PDF (2 MB)
    • Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Report for Historic Environment Policy for Northern Ireland Adobe PDF (6 MB)

    Help viewing documents

    Consultation description

    The Department for Communities (DfC) is the Executive department with responsibility for policy on the historic environment in Northern Ireland.

    The historic environment includes all aspects of the environment resulting from the interaction between people and places through time, including all surviving physical remains of past human activity, whether visible, buried or submerged, and deliberately planted or managed flora. It is a key contributor to our sense of place, identity, and distinctiveness.

    The focus of this consultation is on our draft vision statement, and on our proposed 17 policy aims which will be the basis of a new policy for the support and management of our historic environment.

    We are inviting feedback on the draft vision, the policy aims and a number of emerging issues where action might be taken. These proposals have been developed following extensive engagement with relevant bodies across Northern Ireland and informed by research into current practice across the UK and internationally.

    Your views about the future management of the historic environment through the Historic Environment Policy are important to us and will inform the new policy.

    We encourage respondents to submit their feedback through Citizen Space. However, if this is not possible, you may also respond by email or in writing using the postal address provided.

    The Department has also published its Strategic Environmental Assessment, Equality Impact Screening and Rural Needs Impact Assessment documents as part of this consultation.

    • Historic Environment Policy for Northern Ireland - screening
    • Historic Environment Policy for Northern Ireland - Rural needs impact assessment

    A privacy notice specific to this consultation has also been published.

    Ways to respond

    Respond online
    Email:
    hccpublicconsultation@communities-ni.gov.uk
    Write to:
    Culture Policy Branch
    Level 7
    Department for Communities (DfC)
    Causeway Exchange
    1-7 Bedford Street,
    Belfast, BT2 7EG
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