Listed Buildings

Listed
Buildings and Conservation Areas

How The
Buildings Are Chosen

The Secretary of State for the
Environment is required to compile lists of buildings of special architectural or historic
interest for the guidance of local planning authorities.

The principles of selection for
listed buildings were originally drawn up by an expert committee of architects,
antiquarians and historians, and are still followed. Buildings that qualify for listing
are:

(a) All buildings before 1700, which
survive in anything, like their original condition.

(b) Most buildings between 1700 and
1840, though selection is necessary, and

(c) Between 1840 and 1914 only
buildings of definite quality and character; the selection being designed to include the
principal works of the principal architects. Selected buildings of 1914 to 1939 are also
considered.

In choosing buildings, particular
attention is paid to:

Special value within certain types,
either for architectural or planning reasons or as illustrating social and economic
history (for instance, industrial buildings, railway stations, schools, hospitals,
theatres, town halls, markets, exchanges, almshouses, prisons, lock-ups, mills).

Technological innovation or
virtuosity (for instance, cast iron, prefabrication or the early use of concrete).

Group value, especially as examples
of town planning (for instance, squares, terraces or model villages).

Association with well known
characters or events.

A survey is carried out by the
Department’s 1nspectors of Historic Buildings, for each local authority area, and
buildings are classified in grades to show their relative importance.

Grade 1. These are buildings of
exceptional interest (less than 5 per cent of the listed buildings so far are in this
grade).

Grade 2. These are buildings of
special interest, which warrant every effort being made to preserve them. (Some
particularly important buildings in Grade 2 are classified as Grade 2*).

Definitions

Listed Buildings

A listed building is a building or
structure of special architectural or historic interest included in a list compiled by the
Secretary of State for the Environment and issued (by him) for guidance – see criteria for
listing.

Under the provisions of the Town and
Country Planning Act, 1971, an application for listed building consent must be made to the
Local Planning Authority before carrying out any work for the demolition, extension, or
alteration of a listed building in any manner which would affect its character (including
work to the interior). Application for listed building consent to demolish or carry out
works affecting Grade 1 and 11* buildings must be referred to the Secretary of State for
determination.

Carrying out unauthorised works is
an offence subject to heavy penalties, and local authority can issue an Enforcement Notice
to require reinstatement of the building to its original condition. Similarly, the local
authority may serve a Repairs Notice on the owners of neglected or unoccupied listed
buildings and either carry out the repairs themselves, reclaiming the costs from the owner
or compulsorily acquire the building and its immediate curtilage.

Conservation
Area

Madeley
Conservation Map

Permission Granted by Newcastle-u-Lyme Borough Council for Inclusion.

Conservation Area Boundary
Indicated by the Thicker Line

A conservation area is “an area
of architectural or historical interest the character and appearance of which it is
desirable to preserve or enhance” (Town and Country Planning Act, 1971 Section 277).
Conservation areas usually comprise groups of historic buildings and/or areas of
attractive landscape. They can be large or small and may range from a whole town to a
small square or village green.

Designation seeks to preserve and
enhance the character of the area as a whole through imposing additional controls over
demolition, development, advertisements and the protection of trees. The local planning
authority must be given 6 weeks prior written notice of any works proposed to trees in a
conservation area.

Scheduled Ancient Monuments

Scheduled ancient
monuments are buildings or other structures scheduled under the

Ancient Monuments
Acts. They are usually unoccupied.

By definition an ancient monument
may be any building, structure or work (above or below ground), any cave or excavation, or
the remains thereof; also included are sites comprising vehicles, vessels or aircraft. A
schedule of such monuments is drawn up and maintained by the Secretary of State for the
Environment.

As “protected monuments”
it is a criminal offence to cause damage to a scheduled ancient monument as it is to use a
metal detector on a monument without consent and/or remove objects from a monument as set
out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act, 1979.

It should be noted that most
scheduled ancient monuments in the Borough are on privately owned land. Visitors should,
therefore, take care not to trespass.