Listed building consent vs planning permission

Two consents, two Acts

Planning permission is governed by the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015. Listed building consent is governed by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. They are administered by the same local planning authority but determined separately, on separate validation lists, with separate (sometimes different) consultation regimes and separate decision notices.

Planning permission

Planning permission is required for "development", defined in section 55 of the 1990 Act as the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations on, over or under land, or the making of a material change in the use of land or buildings. It is concerned with the external appearance of the building, its impact on neighbouring amenity, the use of the land, traffic, parking, drainage and so on. It does not, on its own, authorise works that affect the character of a listed building.

Listed building consent

Listed building consent is required under section 7 of the 1990 Act for works of demolition, alteration or extension to a listed building that would affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. It applies to interiors as much as exteriors, to services as much as fabric, and to pre-1948 curtilage structures. The test is character, not value or visibility.

When you need both

Most heritage-sensitive projects need both. Examples:

• Rear extension to a Grade II listed townhouse: planning permission (development) plus LBC (alteration to a listed building).
• Replacement windows on a listed building in a conservation area: planning permission (where Article 4 has removed PD rights) plus LBC.
• New shopfront on a listed commercial building: planning permission, LBC, and (for signs) advertisement consent.
• Solar panels on a listed roof: planning permission (most cases) plus LBC.

Examples needing only LBC:

• Internal alterations to a listed home that do not change its external appearance or use (new bathroom, removal of partition, services upgrade).
• Re-pointing in non-matching mortar.
• Stripping historic paint or wallpaper of historic interest.

Examples needing only planning permission:

• A new outbuilding in the garden of a listed home that does not affect the listed structure or setting.
• Change of use of a non-listed building in a conservation area.
• Hard landscaping that is "engineering operations" but does not affect listed fabric.

How decisions differ

Planning applications are determined under the development plan and material considerations (section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004). LBC applications are determined under the statutory duty in section 16(2) of the 1990 Act (special regard to the desirability of preserving the building, its setting and any features of special interest) and NPPF paragraphs 205 to 208. The tests are different. A scheme can be acceptable in planning terms but unacceptable in LBC terms, or vice versa. Both decisions are needed before works can start.

Appeals run separately

A refused planning permission is appealed under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. A refused LBC is appealed under section 20 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. Both appeals can be combined into a single Planning Inspectorate process where they relate to the same project, but they are decided on separate statutory tests.

Common mistakes

• Assuming that a grant of planning permission authorises listed building works. It does not.
• Submitting the heritage statement only with the planning application and not the LBC application. Both need it.
• Carrying out internal works without LBC because no planning permission was needed. Internal works to a listed building almost always need LBC.
• Failing to seek LBC for pre-1948 curtilage structures (boundary walls, outbuildings, mews).

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