There is a distinction, which is not well understood, between
legitimate protection of views and vistas under planning schemes on
the one hand and views of heritage places which are protected
because of their heritage value on the other. In the language of
heritage conservation, a view may be part of the
"setting" of a heritage place because it is an important
component of the relevant cultural heritage value of the place that
is significant enough to warrant the place's heritage
protection.
The linked paper, written by Partner David Nicholls, examines
this issue in detail and comments upon the reasoning in a recent
judgment of the Planning and Environment Court which considered the
setting of a State and locally listed heritage place. The paper
draws attention to a tendency on the part of some heritage
practitioners to seek to expand upon what the citation for the
relevant cultural heritage states as being significant in relation
to the setting of a place.
