Heritage Impact Assessment of the Subordinate Court Complex Near the David Yale and Joseph Hyner’s Tomb

Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) is engineered way to quantify the possible risk to the heritage structures and sites from the proposed construction activities nearby. A case study on the evaluation of HIA of the proposal near the heritage structures David Yale and Joseph Hyner’s Tomb, which is under the protection of Archeological Survey of India (ASI), is reported in this paper. The proposal consists of the demolition of the old law college building and auditorium located in proximity of the monument and the construction of the subordinate court complex around the monument. The case study addresses the concerns of the demolition and the proposed new construction and the impact it may have on the value of the heritage site and the structural stability of the monument. The HIA is carried out based on the proposal assessment, value assessment and structural risk assessment comprising of condition assessment, vibration assessment and soil settlement assessment. From the structural risk assessment, it can be concluded that the monument is in a high risk due to demolition of the abandoned old law college building near the monument. Therefore, the demolition and construction nearby may require mitigative measures. Considering the risk factor, the mitigative measures to be followed during the demolition and proposed construction are suggested. The recommendations are provided to increase the cultural and aesthetic value of the property and to make it an environment-friendly project.