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What makes a building grade I or grade II listed?
If you are thinking of moving into a listed building, it is important to understand what you are getting into. The property is bound to have an interesting record, but with that history comes a responsibility to maintain its character. There are rules for what you can and cannot change, with some hefty penalties if you flout them.
No-one knows exactly how many listed buildings there are in England, as one entry on the register of buildings can refer to several individual units, but it is estimated there are around 500,000 of them.
This post concentrates on the rules in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different systems in place, run by their own government bodies.
Categories of listing
There are three categories of listed building in England. Grade I buildings are classified as being “of exceptional special interest”. It is very unlikely you are thinking of moving into a property in this category as it covers just 2.5% of listed buildings and tends to be reserved for buildings such as Buckingham Palace, Portchester Castle and York Minster.
The next level down are buildings referred to as Grade II* properties, which are defined as “particularly important buildings of more than special interest.” This is also uncommon, applying to just 5.8% of buildings.
Then we reach the other 91.7% of listed properties, the ones that are designated as Grade II listed buildings. These are considered to be simply “of special interest”.
Historic England maintains a record of all the listed buildings in England, which you can search to see if your building is part of the register and what level it has been listed as.
Anyone can nominate a building to be listed by filling out an online form. The government body Historic England has published a list of criteria that is used to determine whether the application is successful, but ultimately the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport makes the decision on whether a building is added to the list or not. It is potentially possible to remove a building from the list if it no longer considered to have special architectural or historic interest, or if there has been a material change to the building’s circumstance, such as being damaged by fire.
Getting permission for building works
Regardless of the category the building sits in, living in a listed building means you will have to jump through more hoops than normal if you want to undertake any building work on the property. Historic England says that any work that may affect a building’s “character or appearance” needs “listed building consent” from the relevant local authority before work starts. Depending on what you are trying to do, you may need planning permission as well.
Most local authorities have their own conservation officer whose opinion will be key to the decision. If you can find a way to talk to them about what might be acceptable before putting your application in, you will save both time and money.
Even small changes may need approval if it is considered that those changes affect the ‘special interest of the property’. Historic England itself will usually only get involved in the process if your building is grade I or II* listed, or if you are making serious changes to grade II buildings, so for most applications, the local authority’s word will be final.
Ploughing ahead with building work without seeking the proper permissions is considered a criminal offence, with the most likely outcome being that the local authority will force you to pay for the work to be reversed.
The good news is that Historic England has a wealth of advice on its website, so make sure you have a good read before you proceed with any work on a listed building.
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