Listed Buildings

Listed Buildings

From 4 November 2024, the legislative regime for listed buildings is fully separate in England and Wales.

Listed buildings in England

Purpose of listing in England

Listed building legislation is set out in Part I of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (P(LBCA)A 1990). The main purpose of listing is to protect buildings of special architectural or historic interest and their surroundings from changes which materially alter the importance of the buildings or their setting.

See Practice Note: Listed building regime and listed building consent in England—Purpose of listing.

Grading in England

Once a building is deemed suitable for listing, a decision will be made as to the grade of listing to apply to it. There are three types of listed status:

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Grade I buildings are of exceptional interest
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Grade II* are particularly important buildings of more than special interest
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Grade II buildings are nationally important and of special interest

Although the grading system is non-statutory, it has consequences in how the building is treated in the planning system. See Practice Note: Listed building regime and listed building consent

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