BCD 2017

T H E B U I L D I N G C O N S E R VAT I O N D I R E C T O R Y 2 0 1 7 25 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES 1 LISTED BUILDINGS IN ENGLAND In England buildings are listed by the Secretary of State (DCMS) on the advice of Historic England. (English Heritage, as the organisation was known, is now a charitable body responsible for historic properties in state care.) The National Heritage List provides details of all designated ‘heritage assets’ and can be found online (www.historicengland.org) . The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) replaced all previous government policy on heritage protection in England in March 2012, and is supported by national Planning Practice Guidance on the application of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 . In essence the Act defines the extent of protection, while the NPPF gives government policy on how applications for consent should be dealt with and the information required of the applicant. Applications for consent (or ‘authorisation’) generally involve photos and drawings showing the location and general layout and more detailed before and after drawings showing the impact of the proposal. A statement of significance is required, although this could range from as little as a paragraph in a covering letter to a substantial document: ‘The level of detail should be proportionate to the assets’ importance and no more than is sufficient to understand the potential impact of the proposal on their significance’ (NPPF 128). The use of the word ‘assets’ here relates to the relatively new concept of ‘heritage asset’ which is defined in the NPPF glossary as a ‘building, monument, site, place, area or landscape identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions, because of its heritage interest. Heritage asset includes designated heritage assets and assets identified by the local planning authority (including local listing).’ A ‘designated’ heritage asset may be a world heritage site, scheduled monument, listed building, protected wreck site, registered park or garden, registered battlefield or conservation area. PPG Conserving and Enhancing the Historic Environment gives some clarification on key issues, for example where the need to secure a viable use must be balanced against harm to the significance of the asset (paragraphs 15–20). LISTED BUILDINGS IN NORTHERN IRELAND Responsibility for listing, scheduling and designating lies with the Department for Communities which took over these functions from Northern Ireland’s former DoE in May 2016. Planning functions were transferred to local authorities and the new Department for Infrastructure in May 2015. Copies of the lists and schedules can be viewed in the Monuments and Buildings Record in Belfast or in the offices of local authorities. Northern Ireland’s online Buildings Database (www.communities-ni. gov.uk/services/buildings-database ) provides address details, but currently list descriptions are only included for two-thirds of them (those resurveyed since 1997). Unlike the rest of the UK there are four grades of listed buildings, not three. The top nine per cent of listed buildings are graded A or B+. The rest are Grade B1 or B2. Generally, B1 is chosen for buildings that qualify for listing by virtue of a relatively wide selection of attributes, and B2 for those that qualify by virtue of only a few. Buildings in the former Grade C, now known as ‘locally listed’, do not enjoy statutory protection as listed buildings. Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning, Archaeology and the Built Heritage (PPS6) provides the principal source of guidance on the protection of listed buildings under the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 and the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 . However , this only has authority until the 11 new district councils in the region publish local development plans with local policies. These policies must comply with the high level policy published in the Strategic Planning Policy Statement . The plans will be published over the next few years. LBC is required for the demolition of a listed building and for any works of alteration or extension which would affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. As there is ‘a general presumption in favour of the preservation of listed buildings’, applications for LBC must be supported by full information to ‘justify the proposal’ and to ‘enable assessment of the likely impact of proposals on the special architectural or historic interest of the building and on its setting’. The guidance recognises the need for historic buildings to accommodate change and that there is usually room for ‘some degree of thoughtful alteration or extension’. Policy BH8 lists the criteria: a) the essential character of the building and its setting are retained and its features of special interest remain intact and unimpaired, b) the works proposed make use of traditional and/or sympathetic building materials and techniques which match or are in keeping with those found on the building, and c) the architectural details (eg doors, gutters, windows) match or are in keeping with the building. Apart from the impact on the special architectural or historic interest of the building, the authorities may also take into consideration ‘the extent to which the proposed works would bring substantial benefits for the community, in particular by contributing to the economic regeneration of the area or the enhancement of its environment (including other listed buildings)’ (Para 6.5). LISTED BUILDINGS IN SCOTLAND Historic Environment Scotland (HES) is the national body responsible for the designation of nationally significant historic environment assets in Scotland, and details of all national designations can be found on the HES portal, portal.historicenvironment.scot. HES also provides advice on a wide range of historic environment matters within the Scottish planning system. It is the decision-maker in respect of scheduled monuments, and has a statutory role in determining applications affecting the demolition of buildings which are listed or in conservation areas, and the alteration of category A and B listed buildings. Historic Environment Scotland Policy Statement (2016) guides the operation of decision making in the Scottish planning system, updating and replacing Scottish Historic Environment Policy (2011). Under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 , any work which affects the character of a listed building will require LBC. HESPS gives two examples of work that might not require consent: a like-for- like repair such as pointing a wall; and ‘altering part of a building which does not contribute to the overall special interest’ (HESPS 3.31). LBC applications must demonstrate an understanding of the importance of the building and those features which contribute to its special interest. ‘In general the more extensive the intervention which is proposed, the more supporting information applications should provide’ (HESPS 3.41). Proposals which involve the alteration or adaptation of a listed building will usually be accepted where the beneficial use of the building will be sustained or enhanced, provided that its special interest is not adversely affected (HESPS 3.46). If its special interest is adversely affected, key considerations are: a) the relative importance of the special interest of the building, b) the scale of the impact of the proposals on that special interest, c) whether there are other options which would ensure a continuing beneficial use for the building with less impact on its special interest, and d) whether there are significant benefits for economic growth or the wider community which justify the adverse effects of the proposal (HESPS 3.47). Original shopfronts make a significant impact on the character of a street, in this case in Durham. Changing it would require planning permission, whether or not in a conservation area, but listing confers a greater degree of protection, particularly over its removal.