Heritage issues are rarely far away for the property industry, and strategic development in my experience seems particularly vulnerable to its ‘charms’. To a large extent, that arises strategic sites naturally being situated on greenfield and settlement edge sites, close to small to medium sized settlements. In a landscape scattered with prominent ancient churches, country houses and their parks and gardens, listed rural farmhouses, and village cores designated as Conservation Areas, heritage, and in particular the setting of heritage assets, can have a major impact on development potential and risk.