Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023

2 Meaning of “monument” and “site of monument”

(1) In this Act “monument” means—

(a) any building, structure or work (whether above or below the surface of the land) and any cave or excavation;

(b) the site of the remains of any building, structure or work or of the remains of any cave or excavation;

(c) the site of any vehicle, vessel, aircraft or other moveable structure, or part of such an object, which neither constitutes nor forms part of any work which is a monument within paragraph (a);

(d) the site of the remains of any object or part of an object mentioned in paragraph (c);

(e) the site of any thing, or group of things, that evidences previous human activity (other than a site falling within paragraph (b), (c) or (d)).

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) any machinery attached to a monument is to be treated as part of the monument if it could not be detached without being dismantled.

(3) Subsection (1)(a) does not apply to any religious building for the time being used for religious purposes; but this is subject to any exceptions specified in regulations made by the Welsh Ministers.

(4) Subsections (1)(c) and (d) do not apply to—

(a) the site of any object or its remains unless the position of that object or its remains in that particular site is a matter of public interest;

(b) the site of any vessel or its remains which is protected by an order under section 1 of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 (c. 33) designating an area around the site as a restricted area.

(5) For the purposes of this Act the site of a monument includes not only the land i‍n, on or under which it is situated but also any land comprising or adjoining that land which appears to the Welsh Ministers or a local authority, in the exercise in relation to that monument of any of their or its functions under this Part, to be essential for the monument’s support and preservation.

(6) References in this Act to a monument include—

(a) the site of the monument in question,

(b) a group of monuments, and

(c) any part of a monument or group of monuments.

(7) References in this Act to the site of a monument—

(a) are to the monument itself where it consists of a site, and

(b) in any other case include the monument itself.

(8) In this section “remains” includes any trace or sign of the previous existence of the thing in question.