Listed Building Consent
Applications for listed building consent are made to the council. Download a listed building application form or request one from planning services.
Listed buildings
How are buildings listed?
Anyone can ask for a building to be considered for listing. Buildings are currently added to the Statutory List by English Heritage with the approval of the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport. English Heritage normally requires the following information when considering a listing request:
- A location plan showing, wherever possible, the position of any other listed buildings nearby.
- Clear, up-to-date photographs of the main elevations of the building
- Any information about the building (e.g. the date it was built)
- Details of any specialised function (such as industrial use)
- Historical associations
- The name of the architect
- How the building fits in with and enhances it location
- Details of any interior feature of interest
- The contact details of the owner or their agent who may be able to provide access to the building for inspection
- A new application form and guidance notes have been created to recommend listing http://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/
The older and more intact a building is the greater likelihood it is to be listed.
You can make a request for a building to be listed to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport at any time, although priority will be given to those buildings which are under threat.
What does listing include?
The listing includes the building itself and any object or structure fixed to it. Any object or structure within the boundaries of the property (known as the curtilage) is also covered if it existed before 1948. Examples of this might include garden features, boundaries or paths and steps.
The building is listed in its entirety – there is no such thing as a listed roof or interior. Every part of the building is listed equally even modern additions.
The statutory list includes a description to help identify the correct building. This does not contain a comprehensive record of all the important features of the listed building. A feature might still be deemed important even if it is not included in the list description.
What does listing a building mean in practice?
Once a building has been listed, an application for Listed Building Consent must be made to the council for demolition or for any alteration or extension that would affect its special interest. This includes internal and external works and changes. All boundary walls and pre-1948 structures within the boundary of the property (the curtilage) are also included.
A listed building is a building or other structure which is deemed to be of special architectural or historic interest and included on the Statutory List drawn up by English Heritage with approval of the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport
Buildings are chosen according to their;
- Architectural interest
- Historic interest
- Close Historical associations
- Group value
Age and rarity are also considerations.
The listed building is given a grade reflecting its importance:
- Grade II – of special interest warranting every effort to preserve them. Some 95% of listed buildings have this grade
- Grade II* – particularly important buildings of more than special interest
- Grade I – buildings are those of exceptional interest
Buildings are listed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport as “the physical survival of our past valued for their own sake, as part of our cultural heritage and sense of national identity. They are an irreplaceable record which contributes to our understanding of our present and past”.
PermalinkWorks to the interior or exterior of a listed building (often including buildings or structures within the boundary “curtilage”) must be authorised through granting listed building consent. It is a criminal offence to carry out works to a listed building without prior listed building consent.
In many cases works to the exterior of the building will also require planning permission which will require a separate application to be made.
If you are planning to undertake work on a listed building
You are strongly advised to first check it with a member of the conservation team.
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