Planning Enforcement

Listed Buildings

Under section 9 (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) of the Planning Act 1990, it is a criminal offence to do these without listed building consent:

• demolish a listed building; or
• alter or extend such a building in a way which would affect its character.  The penalties for this can be heavy; thus it is important to always check with the council if consent is needed before you carry out any works.

If work is carried out to a listed building without consent a listed building enforcement notice can be issued under Section 38 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (as amended). Schedule 3 of the Planning amended the Act and Compensation Act 1991 to reflect changes made to the planning enforcement regime. There is a right of appeal, and the appeal procedures are similar to those for planning enforcement notices.

The main differences between the enforcement of planning control and the enforcement of listed building and conservation area control are that:

• neither listed building and conservation area consent applications, nor appeals under Section 39 of the Listed Buildings Act attract any application fee;
• there are no time-limits for issuing listed building and conservation area enforcement notices;
• carrying out work without the necessary listed building or conservation area consent, or failing to comply with a condition attached to that consent, is an offence under Section 9 of the Act, whether or not an enforcement notice has first been issued;
• that listed building and conservation area consents are never made retrospective.

Brief guidance on listed building enforcement is given in PPG 15.

Enforcement and Urgent Works

It is an offence to demolish a building in a conservation area without consent. We are authorised to undertake urgent works that are necessary to preserve unoccupied buildings in conservation areas, and to recover the costs from the owners.