T W E N T Y F I R S T E D I T I O N
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PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
HERITAGE PROTECTION
A
LTHOUGH THE
controls affecting the
protection of the historic environment
differ in England, Northern Ireland,
Scotland and Wales, the essence of the
system remains the same, as outlined here.
The principal mechanisms that protect listed
buildings in each of the four home nations are
outlined on the following pages.
CRIMINAL OFFENCE
Scheduled monuments and buildings
which are listed or in conservation areas
are protected by law throughout the United
Kingdom, and it is a criminal offence to
carry out certain works to them without the
necessary consent. A conviction can lead to
fines and even imprisonment. It is therefore
essential that owners, their contractors and
consultants have at least a general grasp
of what can and cannot be done without
consent, and when it is necessary to seek
specialist advice.
Applications are made to the local
planning authority. Some applications are
then referred to the statutory authority
(English Heritage, the Department of the
Environment in Northern Ireland, Historic
Scotland or Cadw).
Ecclesiastical exemption
There is one general exception to the above:
alterations to churches and other places of
worship usually fall outside this system as
most denominations have their own internal
systems of control and are exempt from
the secular system of heritage protection.
However, this only applies where the
building is still in use as a place of worship,
and demolition still requires secular listed
building consent as the building is no longer
in use at the point of demolition.
LEGISLATION AND GUIDANCE
Listed buildings in the UK are protected
under the primary legislation listed above.
All three acts state that LBC is required
for ‘any works for the demolition of a listed
building or for its alteration or extension in
any manner which would affect its character
as a building of special architectural or
historic interest’ (1990 Act Section 7, ’97 Act
Section 6 respectively, and 2011 Act Article
85 – the wording is identical). Repairs may
also require consent as even like-for-like
repairs usually effect a degree of alteration.
The criterion for approval is ‘the desirability
of preserving the building or its setting or any
features of special architectural or historic
interest which it possesses’ (Sections 16
and 14 respectively and Article 85). Listed
buildings are graded according to a variety of
factors such as rarity and completeness, with
grades I and A being the most important,
but all listed buildings are equally protected,
inside and out.
Unlisted buildings in conservation
areas
are protected under the same primary
In Northern Ireland urban areas which
exhibit ‘distinct character and intrinsic
qualities, often based on their historic built
form or layout’, may be designated as areas
of townscape character (ATCs). Planning
permission is required for the demolition of
unlisted buildings in an ATC, and proposals
for development are required to ‘respect the
appearance and qualities of each townscape
area and maintain or enhance their
distinctive character’. Details are given in the
Addendum to Planning Policy Statement 6,
published in 2005.
Scheduled monuments
are protected
in England, Scotland and Wales under the
Ancient Monuments and Archaeological
Areas Act 1979 and in Northern Ireland under
the Historic Monuments and Archaeological
Objects (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. Both
acts prohibit all kinds of work to a protected
monument unless consent has been granted by
the relevant authority. This includes works of
demolition or destruction, damage, removal,
repairs, flooding and tipping (Section 4 and
Designation Works requiring consent
Consent required
Scheduled
monuments
All works including demolition, alterations and
repairs
Scheduled monument
consent (SMC)
Listed building
All demolition work and alterations which affect
its character as a listed building – this includes
works to the interior, objects and structures fixed
to the building, and objects and structures within
its grounds built before 1948 or, in Northern
Ireland, 1973.
Listed building
consent (LBC)
Unlisted
building in a
conservation
area
Demolition only (‘substantial’not partial
demolition)
Conservation area consent
(CAC) or, in England,
planning permission
Some external alterations to houses, which
elsewhere would be permitted by right, may
require consent under an Article 4 direction
Planning permission
In addition to the above consents, development affecting the exterior of a
heritage asset may also require planning permission
Primary Legislation
Government policy and guidance
England
Planning (Listed Buildings and
Conservation Areas) Act 1990
The National Planning Policy Framework
Wales
Planning Policy Wales, Government Circulars
61/96 and 1/98 Planning and the Historic
Environment
, and
Technical Advice Notes
Scotland
Planning (Listed Buildings and
Conservation Areas) (Scotland)
Act 1997
Scottish Historic Environment Policy
and the
guidance notes in the
Managing Change in
the Historic Environment
series
Northern
Ireland
Planning (Northern Ireland)
Order 1991
and
Planning Act
(Northern Ireland) 2011
Planning Policy Statement 6 (PPS6): Planning,
Archaeology and the Built Heritage
Grade/categories (and proportion in each)
England
Grade I (2.5%)
Grade II* (5.5%)
Grade II (92%)
Wales
Grade I (2%)
Grade II* (6%)
Grade II (92%)
Scotland
Category A (8%)
Category B (50%)
Category C (42%)
Northern
Ireland
Grade A (2.5%)
Grade B+ (6.5%)
Grades B1/B2 (91%)
legislation except in England (see below).
All three acts share almost identical
wording, simply stating that a building in a
conservation area ‘shall not be demolished’
without the consent of the appropriate
authority. The criterion by which development
affecting a conservation area is assessed is ‘the
desirability of preserving or enhancing the
character or appearance of that area’.
Article 4 directions may be introduced
in a conservation area to restrict ‘permitted
development rights’ for certain specific
alterations. The effect is that certain specified
changes (window alterations for example)
which would otherwise be permitted by right
will require planning permission where visible
from the street or other public areas.
In England alterations to primary
legislation introduced under the Enterprise
and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 mean that
planning permission is now required for
the demolition of an unlisted building in a
conservation area. (Elsewhere the permission
required is ‘conservation area consent’.)
