Heritage asset statements
Heritage asset statements and heritage impact assessments that identify what is significant about a building or place, assess the effect of your proposals, and set out the justification the council needs to see.
What we do · Conservation & heritage
Listed buildings and conservation areas, done properly.
Heritage cases are where planning gets most technical, and where a well-argued statement makes the biggest difference. We have specialised in listed buildings and conservation areas for many years, with a strong record of consents on sensitive sites across the UK.
Listed buildings of all types
Listed building consent for alterations, extensions, internal works, change of use and repairs, for listed buildings of every grade, from cottages and farmhouses to town houses, hotels and commercial premises, including curtilage buildings and boundary walls.
Conservation area assessments
Conservation area assessments and street scene assessments for extensions, new homes, replacement buildings and demolition in conservation areas, showing how the scheme preserves or enhances the character and appearance of the area.
Setting of heritage assets
New development near listed buildings, scheduled monuments and registered parks and gardens, where the key question is the effect on their setting.
Locally listed buildings
Non-designated heritage assets and buildings on a council's local list, where the council has to weigh the scale of any harm against the benefits.
Heritage appeals
Appeals against refusal of planning permission or listed building consent where heritage is the main issue, with a statement of case written for the Inspector.
Our approach
How we make the case
Councils refuse heritage schemes when the significance of the building has not been properly understood, or the harm has not been justified. Our statements answer both, in plain numbered paragraphs a conservation officer can rely on.
We work closely with conservation officers and, where needed, with Historic England or its equivalents in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
1
Understand what mattersWe visit, research the history, maps and listing description, and set out what gives the building or area its significance, including its setting.
2
Assess the effectWe look at exactly what your proposals would change and how much that affects the significance, so the level of any harm is stated clearly and fairly.
3
Justify and refineWhere there is harm, we help shape the design to reduce it and set out the public benefits and reasoning that national and local policy require.
4
Steer it throughPre-application advice, liaison with the conservation officer, and appeal if the council gets it wrong.
Heritage & listed building questions
When do I need a Heritage Statement for a planning application?
Councils require a Heritage Statement (or Heritage Impact Assessment) whenever an application affects a listed building (Grade I, II* or II), lies inside a conservation area, affects a locally listed building, or sits within the setting of a listed building, scheduled monument or registered park and garden.
Is there a council fee for Listed Building Consent?
No. Standalone applications for Listed Building Consent and applications for demolition of an unlisted building in a conservation area carry no council planning fee in England (see our fees and exemptions table). If your works also need householder or full planning permission, the standard council fee applies to that part.