CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT Introduction the Princes Street Heritage Framework Study Area Comprises a Lo
PRINCES STREET – CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT Introduction The Princes Street Heritage Framework study area comprises a long, section of the city centre extending along the full length of Princes Street, over a single city block and bounded by Rose Street to the north. The site lies within the New Town Conservation Area and the Edinburgh World Heritage Site. The site contains a substantial number of buildings included on the Statutory List of Buildings of Historic or Architectural Interest (14 Category A, 79 Category B, and 11 Category C). The purpose of the Heritage Framework was to better understand the features, details and planned form which give the area its historic character and identity, and to provide a context for its preservation, development and management. The study established the development sequence and form of the surviving James Craig plan, the individual historic structures and the townscape. A more detailed understanding and assessment of the character, quality and comparative cultural significance of individual buildings is now required as a prerequisite to making decisions about the future of the area. Cultural significance refers to the collection of values associated with a place which together identify why it is important. The Burra Charter suggests that ‘Cultural significance is embodied in the place itself, its fabric, setting, use, associations, meanings, records, related places and related objects’. Where decisions are being made about the future of historic buildings, their historic and architectural significance should be adequately assessed. This should form part of the master planning and design process, and the assessment undertaken at the earliest opportunity and before detailed proposals are drawn up for the regeneration.
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