What is a listed building?

Listing, refers to the different types of protection for heritage buildings, this includes listed buildings, parks and gardens, protected sites and scheduled monuments. Listed buildings are buildings with historic or special architecture interest, which are importantly legally protected. The NHLE, National Heritage List for England, is a publicly available searchable database of entries which contain information on England’s protected heritage. There are currently over 370,000 entries for listed building on the National Heritage List for England, with these listings covering individual buildings, and sometimes multiple individual buildings such as a row of terraced houses.

Listing provides protection, whilst celebrating our special buildings, not all listed buildings are centuries old, however buildings less than 30 years old are usually not considered for heritage listing. Anyone can recommend a building for listing through an application process with Historic England. A listed building also means that changes and alterations that might affect the building and special interest have to be managed carefully through the planning process.

The history of listed buildings

The process of listing buildings of historical and architectural interest began in the 1940s, emerging from the Town and Country Planning Acts of 1944 and 1947, and is currently complied in section 1 of the Planning Act 1990.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, sets out the criteria and principles for assessing whether a building is of architectural or historic interest in ‘Principles of Selection for Listed Buildings’ guidance. Special historic interest is about the connection of the building between the people who use or previously have used it, the current use or previous use, significant events or ideas developed there, and the significance the building played in the history. Special architectural interest is about the design and construction of a building. This could include a building of importance in its design, decoration or craftsmanship. Special architectural interest may also apply to significant building types or techniques, such as technological innovation, and plan form. The building may have been designed by a well known architect, may be architecturally distinct, or it might be a model example of a style from a particular period or area of the country. A building of special architectural interest could also be an uncommon example of design and construction, with the objective to include a sample of all different types of buildings in the National Heritage List for England, and that of building types that were once commonplace.

Navigating listed building protection – advice for developers

Buildings which are listed, can be occupied and function as any other building, and doesn’t prevent all changes or construction, locking a building in time, but it means that listed building consent is required to be applied during planning application and permission, in order to consent to any alterations or changes to the building, that may affect the character or special historic interest. When making a decision on the outcome of listed building consent applications, the buildings Local Planning Authority must have special regard for how eligible of preserving the setting, area of building is, as well as any specific features of special historic or architectural interest in has. The Local Planning Authorities must also consider other criteria such as the buildings condition and its functionality.

What permissions might be needed for an older property?

Whilst planning permission applies to all buildings, for older and historic buildings, it may be required in addition to other permissions. Listed building consent will need needed for all work to this type of building. This includes extensions, demolition and alterations, which will affect its character as a building of historic or special architectural significance. In listed building consent applications, the local planning authority will expect for the significance of any heritage assets affected by the work to be outlined.

There are approximately ten thousand conservation architecture areas in England, and over two percent of its building stock is made up of listed buildings which constitute a large percentage of historic cities like London. These historic neighbourhoods and buildings have statutory regulations in place in order to preserve their architectural and historic qualities. Many parts of Central London are conservation areas, including over 70% of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where many of our projects are located. A conservation area is designation to preserve the special architectural and historical character of that neighbourhood. Therefore, the appearance of these neighbourhoods as a whole is more strongly controlled by the local authority in order to preserve its qualities rather than that of an individual building.

In addition to this, some conservation areas are also subject to special controls, if the local planning authority also requires the protection of particular building features such as windows or doors. This might restrict work that would not normally need planning permission, such as replacing a door with one of a similar design. If the building is in a conservation area, and requires to be demolished, this will also require planning permission, as well as listed building consent if the building is also listed

Grading Listed Buildings

There are three different types of listed building gradings; Grade II, Grade II* or Grade I. Grade I buildings are of exceptional interest, with approximately only 2.5% of listed buildings registered as Grade I. Grade II* buildings are particularly important buildings, which hold more than special interest, this equates to around 5.8% of all listed properties. Grade II buildings are of special interest, and approximately 91.7% of all of these buildings are in this category, being the most likely grade of listing for a homeowner.

As we are experienced listed building architects, at Rodic Davidson, we can advise on design possibilities to unlock the potential of your property’s heritage assets, often incorporating modern insertions. We undertake a careful examination of the existing building fabric and features, and regularly work with specialist heritage consultants, to allow us to put forward compelling cases to renovate and reuse our historic properties. The removal of usually more recent, poor-quality extensions and reinstating historic character, with traditional methods and materials in keeping with the original construction, and plan form is supported with particular consideration given to principal floors, front façade and roof forms of listed properties.

How we can help

At Rodic Davidson, we are architects specialising in listed buildings. We have worked with all grades of listed building, from Grade II and Grade II* to the most protected Grade I listed structures that make up only 2.5% of England’s protected building stock. Our team prides ourselves on the challenge of each unique aspect of building renovation and are currently working on a range of exciting projects such as residential properties in Pimlico, and St Johns Wood. Our consciousness of sustainable design parred with our expertise in the alteration of listed buildings was recognised in the awarding of a rare planning consent for a Grade II* listed property, achieving BREEAM outstanding rating and being one of the very few listed properties across the whole country to achieve this sustainability rating.

Examples of listed building development projects

Queen Anne Apartment

Our work on Queen Anne Apartment in Knightsbridge, saw us lead the renovation of a large duplex apartment near Harrods. We configured a large apartment arranged over the two principle floors of a Grade II listed building in the Hans Town Conservation area and is

A luxury Belgravia townhouse

Rodic Davidson were commissioned by the owner of a town house in Belgravia, to prepare proposals for the building’s restoration to its original historic use as a single-family dwelling. The home is located in the heart of the Belgravia Conservation Area and its Grade II listed as a prime example of early/mid century regency style architecture.

A charming Yorkshire country house

Beyond London, we worked on a country house in Yorkshire. Bransby Hall is a Grade II* listed Georgian mansion in Brandsby, North Yorkshire. The new owners of Brandsby Hall commissioned Rodic Davidson to improve the property so as to provide up to date residential accommodation fit for a modern family use.

To learn more about how Rodic Davidson architects can help you with your project, visit our listed building architecture page.