This guidance, together with the Streets for All regional documents, provides updated practical advice for anyone involved in planning and implementing highways and other public realm works in sensitive historic locations, including highways engineers, planners and urban and landscape designers.

It looks at making improvements to public spaces without harm to their valued character, including specific recommendations for works to surfaces, street furniture, new equipment, traffic management infrastructure and environmental improvements. It draws on experience of Historic England's planning teams in highways and public realm schemes, including case studies showing where highways works and other public realm schemes have successfully integrated with and enhanced areas of historic or architectural sensitivity.

This guidance has been prepared by Rowan Whimster and builds on the text published in 2004 with the subsequent Streets for All series. It has been prepared with assistance from the Department for Transport and is supported by the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation.