Bill Plaskett

As no other single individual in modern Lunenburg history, Bill Plaskett has accomplished more with his knowledge and his works to help protect and advance the architectural history of Lunenburg’s built heritage of it more than  600 buildings. A simple Trusted Source category to clearly describe his vast variety of educational, volunteer, and professional heritage experiences must give way to a new classification: Historian: Built Heritage-Architecture. 
His formal education…
    -University of Hull, England, Geography, 1964-66 
    -Nova Scotia Land Survey Institute, Diploma in Property
     Mapping, 1974-75
    -Land Registration & Information Service, Certificate in Maritime
     Property Law, 1986
…provided him with basic tools to build a lifetime of experiences helping Nova Scotian communities to better protect and maximize their built heritage assets while simultaneously improving their community economic environments.

Some of those communities in addition to Lunenburg...
   Chester, Chester Basin, Great Village (Colchester), Bridgewater,
   East Hants, Gold River, Grand Pre' Heritage District, Kings County,
   City of Halifax, (Halifax Regional Municipality), Hubbards,
   Mahone Bay, New  Ross, and Western Shore (in Lunenburg County).

Targeted activities of direct value to Lunenburg undertaken by Bill that have proven over the years to be of untold value are:

1975-86 Mapping Technician, Development Officer, Planner
                Lunenburg County District Planning Commission,
                Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
 • Land Use Survey of Lunenburg County, field research and
   mapping
 • Understanding Lunenburg’s Architecture–an analysis of forms
   and styles
 • Lunenburg Inventory of Historic Buildings – research, writing, and
   graphic design
• The Changing Face of Lunenburg County, a video
• Lunenburg & Chester municipal boundary, historical research &
  confirmatory mapping
• Rezoning and plan amendment reports, Town of Lunenburg &
  Chester Village

1987-92 Nova Scotia Heritage Property Act - Amendments for
               HeritageDistricts
For the Department of Tourism and Culture, Heritage Section, 
developed draft legislation for heritage conservation districts in 
Nova Scotia--research and discussion papers on the urban and 
rural contexts and the compensation issue, the draft legislation, 
public presentations, and revisions through various stages of
review.          

1994-00 Lunenburg Old Town Heritage Conservation District Plan
                and Bylaw
For the Town of Lunenburg: background study 1994; first 
community consultation (1995); draft conservation plan and 
bylaw (first & second drafts 1996); second community consultation 
(1997); the third and fourth drafts (1999). Conservation Plan & Bylaw
adopted in June 2000.

1995-96 Buildings of Old Lunenburg 
Collaborated with photographer Terry James to produce this book,
for Nimbus Publishing.

1997 Design Brief, Lunenburg Academy
For the Town of Lunenburg and Parks Canada: interpretive signage
for the presentation of the Lunenburg Academy as a National Historic
Site.
1997  Lunenburg Heritage District Education Program
A series of newspaper articles and a Community TV program on
proposed design guidelines for the proposed Old Town Heritage
Conservation District.

1997-98 Lunenburg World Heritage Community Strategy (5/98)
With Roy Eugene Graham & Associates, Washington DC, helped 
to develop a strategy for heritage conservation and community
economic development in the Lunenburg Old Town to better
capitalize upon its 1995 UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.

1998 A Guide to Establishing a Heritage Conservation District in Nova Scotia
For the Province of Nova Scotia - a guide to the heritage district planning process.

1998-2002 Planner/Development Officer (half-time).
                    Acting Planning Director (full-time Sept-Dec 2001)
                    Lunenburg County District Planning Commission,
                    Chester, NS

2014-2017 Heritage Officer, Town of Lunenburg (2/5 part time)
• Administration of Heritage Conservation District Bylaw and
  Design Guidelines, review of applications for architectural
  alteration, and issuance of certificates of appropriateness
• Administration of heritage property Bylaw, review of applications
  for alteration of individually registered heritage properties, 
  reports to heritage advisory committee and council, and issuance
  of heritage permits
• Critique of amendments to Heritage Property Act proposed by
  Province (2015)
• Report on potential re-purposing of Lunenburg Armouries (2016)
• Review of Heritage Conservation District Plan, Bylaw and Design 
  Guidelines & preparatory work and discussion of issues with
  Heritage Advisory Committee (2016-17)