Listed Property - England and Wales - Statutory Criteria For Listing

Statutory Criteria For Listing

To be listed, a building must meet various criteria. The criteria for listing include architectural interest, historic interest and close historical associations with significant people or events. Buildings not individually noteworthy may still be listed if they form part of a group that is—for example, all the buildings in a square. This is called ‘'group value’'. Sometimes large areas comprising many buildings may not justify listing but receive the looser protection of designation as a conservation area.

The criteria include:

• Age and rarity: The older a building is, the more likely it is to be listed. All buildings erected before 1700 that "contain a significant proportion of their original fabric" will be listed. Most buildings built between 1700–1840 are listed. After 1840 more selection is exercised and “particularly careful selection” is applied after 1945. Buildings less than 30 years old are rarely listed unless they are of outstanding quality and under threat.
• Aesthetic merits: i.e. the appearance of a buildings. However, buildings that have little visual appeal may be listed on grounds of representing particular aspects of social or economic history.
• Selectivity: where a large number of buildings of a similar type survive, the policy is only to list the most representative or significant examples.
• National interest: significant or distinctive regional buildings e.g. those that represent a nationally important but localised industry
• State of repair: this is not deemed to be a relevant consideration for listing. A building can be listed regardless of its state of repair.

Additionally:

• Any buildings or structures constructed before 1 July 1948 that fall within the curtilage of a listed building are treated as part of the listed building.
• The effect of a proposed development on the setting of a listed building is a material consideration in determining a planning application. Setting is defined as “the surroundings in which a heritage is experienced”.

Although the decision to list a building may be made on the basis of the architectural or historic interest of one small part of the building, the listing protection nevertheless applies to the whole building. Listing applies not just to the exterior fabric of the building itself, but also to the interior, fixtures, fittings, and objects within the curtilage of the building even if they are not fixed.

De-listing is possible but rare in practice. One example is the 30 November 2001 de-listing of North Corporation Primary School, Liverpool.