In the UK and the Republic of Ireland (RoI) there are many forms of constraint that can be imposed on an historic building, structure or landscape that can restrict how they are used, altered, adapted or repaired, beyond that encountered from the normal constraints of national or local planning legislation. This heritage based legislation has largely been developed to provide additional protect to the sensitive and diminishing elements of the national historic fabric.
This extra form of protection can be applied to many forms of building, structure, or landscape that have been designated by one of the national heritage protection agencies as being special and warranting extra protection. The primary scheduling bodies in the UK are:
English Heritage
Historic Scotland
CADW
Northern Ireland (NI) Environment Agency
Isle of Man Department of Local Government and the Environment
States of Jersey
States of Guernsey
RoI Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government
There are several types of protection given to buildings, structures and even landscapes and these vary depending on the level of protection that is required. In general terms the forms of protection are known as:
Listed Buildings
Scheduled or Ancient Monuments
Registered Parks and gardens
Registered battlefields
Protected wrecks
Details of the form and extent of the protection of listed buildings and structures can normally be obtained from the local planning authority in whose area they are located. The national scheduling bodies hold the lists that contain the information on all the protected buildings, structures, landscapes, etc, in their remit. Many of these national lists and schedules are available in some form on the Web from the relevant national bodies
Formal consent is required before any work is undertaken to any structure or landscape that is given one of the forms of protection noted above. Depending on the level of designation the approval may need to be obtained from the local planning authority or the national designating body, or sometimes both. This is to ensure that nothing is done that could alter or destroy the character, fabric or related importance of the protected area. Failure to obtain the necessary consents can lead to large fines or even imprisonment.
As the legislation that encompasses these sites is intended to provide them with the necessary level of protection, it is necessary for both those who are seeking consent and those who are granting it to fully understand the implications of the effect the proposal may have. Therefore an application to undertake work should clearly explain the proposal and then demonstrate what effect it will have on the protected site and is often known as an historic building environmental impact assessment (HBEIS).
There are other areas of specialist protection that can be applied to buildings, structures or landscapes, that may contain, but are not specifically based on historic or heritage based constraints. These are often designated by a wider range of bodies than just the heritage-led ones noted above. These other areas of designation include:
National parks
Areas of outstanding natural beauty
Conservation areas
Areas of special scientific interest
Environmentally sensitive areas
Tree preservation orders
This form of protection is largely based and constrains the form and type of development that can be carried out. There is frequently a removal of rights that are enjoyed in non restricted areas, so that even apparently simple aspects of work such as painting the outside of a house will require planning approval. Farming operations and even gardening activities can be constrained by some of these types of protection.
In these areas there may be additional levels of control that augment or replace the local authority planning control. As a result there may be additional policy or guidance procedures hat need to be considered before applying to carry out work.
Further information on these subjects can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of the HBAS website.
