What is a listed building?

What is a listed building?

There are nearly 400,000 listed buildings on the National Heritage List for England, which is a register maintained by Historic England. Having been in place since the 1940s through the Town and Country Planning Act, ‘listed’ status gave legal protection to these buildings, and this is protected through section 1 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.

If you own a listed building or are interested in buying one, it’s helpful to understand what this status means and how it can impact you and what you can do to the property.

What does it mean if a building is listed? 

Buildings of special historic or architectural interest can be listed as being of national importance. This includes homes and commercial buildings, and other structures can be listed as well, such as monuments, bridges, parks and gardens.

Listed buildings are protected from being extended, significantly altered or demolished without permission from the local planning authority. This means once a building is listed, changes that might impact its special interest or character must go through the planning system.

Anyone can recommend a building to be listed through an application process. It is also possible for a building to be delisted, but this can only happen if it can be demonstrated that it should never have been listed in the first place or if there has been a significant change that means the building no longer is deemed worthy of listing.

The different types of listed buildings

In England, there are three main classifications of listed buildings, including Grade I, Grade 2* and Grade 2.

• Grade 1 listed buildings are of exceptional interest and of the highest significance
• Grade 2* listed buildings are particularly important buildings of more than special interest
• Grade 2 listed buildings are of special interest and the most common type of listing

Keep in mind that the legislation protecting listed buildings doesn’t refer to the different types of listings, but the grade could impact the nature or scale of works that could be deemed acceptable within a listed building consent planning application.

Examples of notable listed buildings

Across England, there are a number of notable historic listed buildings that you might have seen. This includes Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in London, St Georges Hall, a neoclassical building in Liverpool and Chatsworth House, a stately home in Derbyshire.

While some listed buildings are historic period properties, not all are hundreds of years old and steeped in rich history. In recent years, modern buildings have become listed as well.

Age of a property or site is a consideration, but there are other factors that also help determine whether a building should be listed or not. This can include association with people or events, and in some instances, buildings can also be an exemplar form of a specific style or technical construction.

To find out if a building is listed, visit Historic England’s website to see the full list.

What do you need to be aware of with historic buildings?

While listed buildings can be used and enjoyed like any other building, there are restrictions and challenges with refurbishing and repairing these types of properties. If there are changes you want to make to a listed building, even replacing windows and internal alterations, listed building consent may be required.

Minor or general repairs and maintenance works do not usually require consent. However, if you are in doubt, it is recommended to seek out advice from the conservation officer of the local authority or an experienced professional. Failure to obtain consent for listed building alterations is a criminal offence, where punishment could be a fine or even imprisonment.

With listed buildings and other historic buildings, it’s key to find ways to conserve and restore the property while meeting modern building regulations. This can be challenging, and that is why it’s helpful to work with a RICS surveyor to help you better understand your property or a building you’re interested in purchasing.

Historic building or period property surveys

At Eddisons, we undertake historic building surveys and period property surveys. With RICS qualified surveyors, we can help you make informed decisions on the planning and development of a listed building and help support the heritage conservation of a property.

We have over 30 offices across the UK, so we can help you find the right professional who can undertake surveys near you. Get in touch to find out more about our historic building surveys or period property surveys.