Conservation management plan
A conservation management plan sets out a heritage place's significance and the policies for managing change to it, relied on when seeking approval for works.
Ask Chalkline about this →A conservation management plan (CMP) is a document that sets out the heritage significance of a place and the policies for managing change to it. It is required or relied on when seeking approval for works to a significant heritage item, especially a state-listed one.
A CMP is the heritage “rulebook” for a specific place. It typically contains:
- a statement of significance (what matters and why),
- an analysis of the fabric, identifying what is significant and what is later or intrusive,
- conservation policies (what can change, what must be retained, acceptable approaches), and
- guidance for future use and works.
It differs from a heritage impact statement (HIS): the CMP is the standing management framework for the place, prepared once and updated periodically, while an HIS assesses a specific proposal against the significance (and usually draws on the CMP). For a major or state-listed place, the heritage authority often requires an endorsed CMP to exist before it will consider works, and the works must then be consistent with it.
For a builder the practical points are: on a significant heritage job, find out whether a CMP exists and get it, because it tells you up front what can be touched, what must be conserved, and the methodology the approval will expect, which is exactly what you need to scope and price the work. Designing or pricing heritage works without reading the CMP is how you commit to something the heritage authority will refuse. Where no CMP exists for a major place, expect to need one (prepared by a heritage consultant) as part of the approval.
Also known as: CMP, conservation plan.
Category: Heritage / Approvals.
Related
See also
References
- Heritage overlays (Chalkline) (verified 2026-06-03)
Last updated: 2026-06-03. Verified: 2026-06-03. Quarterly review for currency.