CHANGES to protect the region's most historically significant and important sites are taking place.

Leading the way as one of 15 national sites chosen to pilot the scheme are the ancient walls of York.

There are a range of protective designations for such sites, from the listing of buildings and the scheduling of ancient monuments to the registering of historic parks, gardens and battlefields.

Proposals for a streamlined system of heritage protection have been drawn up by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to simplify the situation, and are being put to the test by English Heritage on the sites.

York's walls feature a number of scheduled monuments and listed buildings, including St Mary's Abbey and St Olave's Church, which is still in use.

The walls also include a registered park, area of archaeological importance and conservation area.

English Heritage will work with York City Council to carry out an assessment of the walls and devise a plan that addresses the challenges of caring for such features in an urban area.

City of York Council archaeologist John Oxley said that the city had a complex historic environment.

He said: "We want to work with all interested parties so that we can come up with a simpler, more effective way to hold on to what people value in the historic environment, while allowing essential changes to take place."

Published: 08/04/2004