Earlier this year, the Nottinghamshire HER completed its five-yearly audit. This audit, conducted in partnership with Historic England, analyses how effectively local Historic Environment Records (HERs) are being maintained and improved. It also helps to identify areas which could be improved upon in the future.

The audit looks at four key areas in particular: Content and Coverage, Data Standards and Security, Access and Engagement, and Infrastructure (Service Delivery). It looks at the quality of our records, how often we engage in public outreach, how maintain and protect our written and online records, as well as many other aspects.

We are delighted with the results of our recent audit. Across all four areas, we consistently received top marks, with very minimal suggestions for improvement. It signifies that the Nottinghamshire HER is currently amongst the highest rated in the country! This is a great achievement for us and one we are all very proud of.

The HER is a valuable tool for local planning and development, but also for the Nottinghamshire community. It helps to provide protection for heritage sites/features and helps to connect the local community to their local environment and landscapes. So we are over the moon that our hard work and dedication to improving the Nottinghamshire HER and engaging with the local community is being recognised.

We look forward to working on further enhancing the record and improving access to our resources to ensure we maintain a dynamic high-quality service.

If you would like to explore the results of all audited English HERs, you can interact with the map published on the Historic Environment website here (scroll down the page a little if you’re struggling to find it). Alternatively, you can read our audit summary for yourself here.

Above: A summary of our audit results