Planning Permission

Local planning authorities must consult English Heritage on planning applications which affect certain aspects of the historic environment where they are minded to grant consent.  This gives English Heritage the opportunity to comment on applications at an early stage.

Precise details of when English Heritage should be consulted are set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended, DETR Circular 01/2001 and the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2010. 

For details, please download the publication 'When English Heritage must be consulted on planning, listed building and conservation area consent applications' from the right hand side of this page. 

Note that there are different requirements for authorities within Greater London.

English Heritage must be notified by a local planning authority when a planning application affects:

• the setting of a Grade I or II* listed building
• the character or appearance of a conservation area (developments over a certain size or height)
• a Grade I or II* registered park or garden
• the site of a scheduled ancient monument
• development within the vicinity of Windsor Castle

For specific details please refer to the publication.

In addition to the requirements set out in the Planning Act 1990 and Circular 1/2001, English Heritage must be consulted on certain applications in Greater London by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) Order 2010. 

English Heritage must be consulted by Greater London planning authorities when a planning application affects:

• the setting of a Grade I or II* listed building
• the curtilage of a Grade II (unstarred) listed building
• the setting of a Grade II (unstarred) listed building and which involves development of a certain size and scale
• demolition, in whole or part, or the material alteration of a listed building
• the character or appearance of a conservation area (developments over a certain size or height)
• a Grade I or II* registered park or garden
• the site of a scheduled ancient monument

For specific details please refer to the publication.

The Planning Act 2008 introduced a new procedure to deal with planning applications for large scale projects. These projects, known as nationally significant infrastructure projects - for example power stations, railways, harbours and wind farms - were determined by the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC).

Before an application was submitted, the applicant must have undertaken pre-application work. This involved consultation with statutory consultees as to the possible impact of the development, including consideration of the impact on the historic environment.

The IPC would issue guidance and advice to applicants on who they must consult before an application was submitted. Once submitted, the application would then be processed by the IPC to determination.

The Localism Act 2011 provides for the abolition of the IPC and, from 1 April 2012, the relevant Secretary of State is the decision-maker. The Planning Inspectorate processes the application (the role previously undertaken by the IPC).

For more details see the Planning Portal website. 

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