Heritage & Conservation

A heritage consultant is a professional trained in the management of the historic environment which might include listed buildings, scheduled monuments and registered parks and gardens. They may have different specialisms including expertise in the planning system and obtaining listed building consents. A heritage consultant can support clients in assessing the viability of their schemes whatever the scale, in order to promote the sustainable development of the historic environment.

An HIA may be required for planning applications within or nearby designated areas such as conservation areas, for Listed Building Consent or for developments near areas of with known listed buildings.

The document firstly should outline the context – the proposals and why the building for example is important (not all of it might be), secondly the report should describe what indirect or direct impact the proposal will have on the building (or site). The purpose of the report is not to defend the proposals but to explain how proposal has responded to the building (or site) and therefore is justified and if necessary, any mitigation has been put in place as part of a considered scheme. A Heritage Consultant will undertake a methodical process to evaluate this which will help make the process a smoother ride.

There are some additional planning controls in conservation areas and they can vary between Local Planning Authorities. However, all the additional controls affect owners who want to undertake works to the exterior of their properties or any trees. Local Planning Authorities prepare Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans as a starting point to help, although they can often be out of date.

No! It does not mean the building is frozen in time like a museum. It simply means that listed building consent must be applied to help manage change where it affects its architectural and historic interest. This can sometimes be a bit of a grey area so if you’re not sure if you need to apply then ask us and we can help.

It is a criminal offence to carry out works to a listed building (that require consent) without permission, so double check before you do anything. The maximum penalty is two years imprisonment or an unlimited fine. The offence is committed by the person who carried out the works and the person who instructed the works. However, when you purchase a listed building, you inherit any authorised works undertaken by previous owners so be careful to check what’s gone on as there is no time limit on enforcement action.

No. If a building is listed, the legal protection includes interiors, exteriors and potentially outbuildings, land and curtilage structures. The list description does not cover everything that is protected by its status, although is helpful to identify it and some of the later list descriptions are much more detailed and do set out any exclusions.

It is very unikely that buildings are de-listed, however it is not impossible.

In some rare circumstances there are buildings that have been designated that may have suffered serious neglect or cumulative harm and no longer be considered worth of listing any longer. In these instances, we would advise accordingly and undertaken some initial research into whether there was a strong case for de-listing or not.

Yes. The Council have several statutory powers that they can use for listed buildings, conservation areas and the like if they are worried about their continued conservation. It is always however, always in the owner’s best interest to maintain the building to avoid high costs and problems at a later date.