Historic landscapes, parks, and gardens

Historic landscape characterisation

West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service (WYAAS) completed the West Yorkshire Historic Landscape Characterisation Project in 2017. Historic England supported us with this.

This project mapped the entire district to show the current and previous uses of parcels of land. The aim was to record the modern urban and rural landscape, and show how aspects of past uses still exist around us.

Wakefield’s report can be downloaded from the WYAAS website.

Historical maps and photographs can also be accessed through our Historical maps page.

Historic parks and gardens

The national Register of Parks and Gardens includes specially designed landscapes of all ages, right up to the recent past. 

A registered park or garden is not protected by a separate consent regime. However, we will consider the impact of planning proposals on the special character of a registered park or garden. We will give great weight to its conservation.  The National Planning Policy Framework defines registered parks and gardens as designated heritage assets. This means that substantial harm to, or total loss of, a registered park or garden should be ‘exceptional’ or ‘wholly exceptional’, depending on the site’s grade.  

Further information can be found on Historic England’s website. 

Alongside the national register, we have also designated a locally important historic landscape at Heath (ref HL02 in the Wakefield Local Plan 2036).  

Our maps show the location of historic parks and gardens within the Wakefield district.