Listed Buildings

Listed Buildings are officially defined as buildings of "special architectural or historic interest". As required by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act, 1990, such buildings are included on a list compiled by the Government Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Within North Norfolk there are over 2000 Listed Buildings; of these 95 are Grade I (exceptional interest); 199 are Grade Il* (outstanding interest) and 1,956 are Grade Il (special interest).

Listed Building details and images available on the Internet

• HERITAGEGATEWAY website provides a single point of access to historic environment records on England held both locally and nationally. Partners of Heritagegateway include English Heritage, The Insitute of Historic Building Conservation and the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers.
• The Heritagegateway advanced search allows you to search by County, District and Parish, historical period and choose which database you want to search. Detailed Listed Building records are available as well as historical and contemporary images although the images are displayed in separate sections of the search results.
• Details and locations of North Norfolk's Listed Buildings are held at North Norfolk District Council's Cromer Offices, and they can be found by searching on the Heritagegateway website.
• A downloadable list of North Norfolk locations with listing grade, but without details is available in the table below.

NNDC Downloadable Guides and Application Forms for Listed Buildings

File Title	Available Formats
11 - Application for listed building consent for alterations, extension or demolition of a listed building (1APP form)	pdf 538KB
- Application Planning Portal Help text	pdf 39KB
- Application National Requirements	pdf 62KB
Listed Building Ownership Certificates (Notice 1 is not yet on the 1APP form)	pdf 19kb	MS Word 38kb
Listed Building Guidance for Owners and Occupiers	pdf 880kb	-
List of Listed Buildings in North Norfolk (ordered by Parish)	pdf 150kb	-
North Norfolk Design Guide - D36 Part 6 Listed Buildings	pdf 764kb	-
Revision to Principles of Selection for Listed Buildings - DCLG Circular 01/07	pdf 138kb	-

Other planning application forms are available on our Planning Application Forms and Guidance Notes page.

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What are the implications of owning a listed property?
If a building is listed, this does not necessarily mean that it cannot be altered or extended. However, if you wish to demolish a Listed Building or to alter or extend it in any way that affects its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest, you must apply for Listed Building Consent from the District Council.
Commencing work without such consent will result in a criminal offence being committed under Section 9 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act, 1990, for which the penalties can be heavy.

Applicants for Listed Building Consent must be able to justify their proposals and will need to show why works affecting the character of the building are desirable or necessary. They should provide the District Council with full information to enable it to assess the likely impact of their proposals on the building and its setting.

Listed Building status applies to the interior and exterior of the building, as well as to any objects or structures fixed to the building, whether original or later additions. It also covers any objects or structures within the curtilage of the building which, although not fixed to it, form part of the land and have done so since before 1st July 1948, e.g. outbuildings, statues and boundary walls. Consequently, applications for Listed Building Consent may be required for a variety of works, including internal alterations, replacement windows and for the conversion of curtilage buildings. Even fairly minor proposals such as re-decoration and re-pointing may require consent.

Applications for Listed Building Consent will be in addition to any Planning Permission you need. In most cases, however, the two applications are best dealt with together. Before commencing any works to a Listed Building, it is always advisable to check with the District Council to find out which, if any, applications are required and whether they are likely to be received favourably. In addition to the completion of the necessary Listed Building Consent forms, the Local Planning Authority will also require the following information in order to assess the impact of the proposals on the building:-

• an accurate and up to date location plan to a scale of 1/2500 or 1/1250 with the application site outlined in red,
• a full set of properly drafted metric scale drawings of not less than 1/100 showing the layout of the building floor by floor, in plan form, both existing and proposed,
• a similar set of metric scaled drawings showing all the elevations of the building, both existing and proposed,
• where internal spaces or structures are to be altered, internal elevations and sections, drawn to a metric scale, both existing and proposed,
• where possible a full set of recent informative photographs of the building and its condition.

Adherence to the following general principles will increase the likelihood of an application being received favourably:-

• any necessary alterations shall be carried out using materials as close as possible to the old. (i.e. tiles, bricks, mortar and render, etc.),
• any necessary replacement features should follow the detail and form of the old, like for like. (i.e. doors, windows and guttering etc.),
• in designing essential new extensions, attention should be paid to respecting the scale, design and proportions of the existing building.

The words 'necessary' and 'essential' have been emphasised to stress the importance of keeping building works to a minimum.

Further information on what it means to own or occupy a Listed Building can be found in our downloadable "Listed Building Guidance for Owners and Occupiers" document.

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What is a Repairs Notice?
The responsibility for keeping a Listed Building in a reasonable state of repair must rest in the first instance with the owner. Each owner should consider themselves as a temporary steward or custodian of the building as well as just its present owner. If, however, the owner fails to take reasonable steps to preserve a Listed Building, the District Council can serve a Repairs Notice, specifying the works reasonably necessary for the proper preservation of the building.

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Are there any grants available?
At the present time, the Local Planning Authority does not have any money available to grant aid the structural repair of Listed Buildings. English Heritage does have a budget available for the repair of important Grade I and II* Listed Buildings. Please visit the Grants section of their website for more information.
Also, the Architectural Heritage Fund is a registered charity promoting the conservation of historic buildings by providing advice, information and financial assistance in the form of grants and low interest working capital loans for projects undertaken by building preservation trusts and other charities in the UK.

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The following organisations provide invaluable information on how to conserve and protect historic buildings:-

• The website http://www.buildingconservation.com/ is an invaluable source for historic building conservation advice and provides a wide range of articles and a directory of specialist contractors and information on conservation courses and training.
• English Heritage offers technical advice on all aspects of historic buildings and information on Listed Buildings, including the new process for the listing of buildings.
• English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund funds Images of England and aims to create a 'point in time' photographic record of England's listed buildings. It is a snapshot of the buildings listed at the turn of the millennium; it is not an up-to-date record of all currently listed buildings. Note you have to register to use the site.
• The Georgian Group provides advice principally related to buildings dating from 1700 - 1837 and advice of more general use. The group also provides guidance on repair, maintenance and refurbishment and redecoration.
• The Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC) is a professional institute which represents conservation professionals. It promotes the highest standards of practice to achieve effective protection and enhancement of the historic environment.
• Period Property UK provides advice on repair and restoration of period property. It also provides lists of period properties for sale, an online discussion forum, a directory of historic building professionals and craftspeople.
• The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings publishes technical advice notes and booklets on many aspects of the maintenance and repair of historic buildings and can advise on suitable surveyors, architects and craftspeople.
• The Victorian Society provides guidance on repair, maintenance, refurbishment and redecoration. They principally deal with Victorian and Edwardian architecutre and other arts dating from 1837-1914.

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For further information on Listed Buildings in North Norfolk please contact North Norfolk District Council's Conservation and Design Section:
Tel: (01263) 516131/516138 or
Fax: (01263) 514802 or
email: conservationanddesign@north-norfolk.gov.uk. You may also wish to visit our Planning pages.

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