Planning Advice

English Heritage provides a timely and consistent service for everyone that needs our formal advice.  From our nine regional offices, English Heritage advises on more than 15,000 statutory consent applications per year. 

95% of our planning and listed building consent advice is provided within 21 days or to an agreed timetable.

English Heritage has 250 planning staff made up of qualified architects, planners, landscape architects, archaeologists, surveyors and architectural historians – and each case will be assigned to the professional whose skills best fit. As England’s lead body for conservation expertise, staff also have the resource of calling on our separate research department, where specialists can provide further relevant and sometimes unique research.

Local authorities are the decision-makers on listed building and planning consents but they must formally consult English Heritage for advice if a building is highly listed at Grade I or II*, or if substantial demolition is planned. A link to a detailed explanation of when English Heritage is formally consulted can be dowloaded as a pdf. When to consult EH outside London or When to consult EH in Greater London

Local authorities in England receive 32,000 applications a year for listed building consent.

90% of listed building consent cases are approved. 

Many of those applications turned down simply provided insufficient drawings or information.  A checklist of what you may need when applying to a local authority for consents plus an explanation of our role and what you can expect from our advisory service, is available in A Charter for English Heritage Planning and Development Advisory Services. 

Many ambitious and imaginative conservation-led developments have been helped and improved by pre-application discussions with English Heritage staff and guidance from our Conservation Principles. Find out more about the best of these in Constructive Conservation in practice