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Listed building

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In the United Kingdom the term 'listed building' refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. It is a widely used status, applied to around half a million buildings.

A listed building may not be demolished, extended or altered without special permission from the local planning authority (who typically consult the relevant central government agency, particularly for significant alterations to the more notable listed buildings). Owners of listed buildings are, in some circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them and can face criminal prosecution if they fail to do so or if they perform unauthorised alterations. Because of this, and because listing can limit the options available for significant expansion or improvement, the law allows for owners of listed buildings to object to the listing.

Although most structures appearing on the lists are buildings, other structures such as bridges, monuments, sculptures, and even milestones and mileposts may also be listed. Ancient structures (such as Stonehenge) are not protected by listing, but are instead classified as Scheduled Ancient Monuments and protected by separate legislation. Similarly, natural features such as landscapes, parks and forests are protected by other means.

Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947.

Contents

[edit] Listing in different parts of the UK

[edit] England and Wales

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In England and Wales the authority for listing is granted by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and is presently administered by English Heritage, an agency of the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and (in Wales) Cadw. Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on English Heritage's Buildings At Risk Register.

There are three types of listed status (in descending order of "importance" and difficulty to obtain planning permission):

  • Grade I: buildings of exceptional interest.
  • Grade II*: particularly important buildings of special interest.
  • Grade II: buildings of special interest.

There was formerly a non-statutory Grade III, which was abolished in 1970. [1]. Additionally, Grades A, B and C were used in pre-1977 lists, for Anglican churches in use - these correspond to Grades I, II* and II.

The government are currently proposing to abolish Grade II*. Despite 91% of respondents to the Heritage Protection Review voicing their opposition, English Heritage says they expect the proposal to become law, which would see many Grade II* buildings downgraded to Grade II [2].

As of May 2003 there are approximately 442,000 listings in place, of which 418,000 (94.5%) are Grade II, 18,000 (4.1%) are Grade II*, and 6,000 (1.4%) are Grade I. There are estimated to be about 500,000 actual buildings listed, as listing entries can apply to more than one building. The criteria for listing include architectural interest, historic interest and close historical associations with significant people or events. Buildings which are not individually noteworthy may still be listed if they form part of a group that is — for example, all the buildings in a square. Sometimes large areas comprising many buildings may not warrant listing but are given the looser protection of designation as a conservation area.

Government general policy is to list all buildings erected before 1700 "which survive in anything like their original condition" and most buildings of 1700–1840. More selection is exercised among buildings of the Victorian period and the 20th century. Buildings less than 30 years old are rarely listed, and buildings less than ten years old never.

Although the decision to list may be made on the basis of the architectural interest of one small part of the building, the listing protection nevertheless applies to the whole building.

De-listing is theoretically possible but rare in practice — one example being the November 30 2001 de-listing of North Corporation Primary School, Liverpool.

[edit] Northern Ireland

Listed buildings in Northern Ireland are administered by the Environment and Heritage Service, under powers granted by Article 42 of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991.

The scheme of listing is as follows:

  • Grade A: buildings of national importance and superior examples of a specific type
  • Grade B+: buildings of regional importance, or important buildings that would qualify as Grade A but for lower-quality design or subsequent additions.
  • Grade B1: building of local importance, or good examples of some type.
  • Grade B2: building of local importance, or good examples of some type, but of a lower quality than Grade B1.

[edit] Scotland

In Scotland, similar legislation (the Town and Country Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997) applies. As with other powers regarding planning, conservation is a power devolved to the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive. Historic Scotland is the agency charged by the Executive for protecting listed buildings and scheduled monuments.

The scheme for classifying buildings is largely similar to its equivalents in the rest of the UK:

  • A: buildings of national or international importance, and important examples of a specific type.
  • B: buildings of regional importance, and notable examples of a specific type.
  • C(s): buildings of local importance, and lesser examples of a specific type.

As of 2005, approximately 8% of listings are category A, 60% are category B, and 32% are category C(S).

[edit] Famous listed buildings

Image:Centre Point London.jpg

[edit] Grade I

[edit] Grade II*

[edit] Grade II

[edit] Mixed

[edit] Locally listed buildings

Many councils, for example, Birmingham City Council, maintain a register of Locally listed buildings in addition to the statutory list. There is no statutory protection of a building or object on this list. Councils hope that owners will recognise the merits of their properties and keep them unaltered if at all possible.

These grades are used by Birmingham:

Grade A
This is of statutory list quality. To be the subject of notification to English Heritage and/or the serving of a Building Preservation Notice if imminently threatened.
Grade B
Important in the city wide architectural or local street scene context, warranting positive efforts to ensure retention.
Grade C 
Of significance in the local historical/vernacular context, including industrial archaeological features, and worthy of retention

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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