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The decision on which buildings to include in the statutory (or
national) list is made by the Secretary of State for the Environment -
or Culture, Media and Sport (whatever spin the government of the day wants
to put on it) - often acting on the advice of some agency, such as English
Heritage.
Once a building is listed it is not automatically protected from all
change or even from demolition. But listing means that it is more
difficult to get permission to change or demolish the building than it
is for an unlisted building. If permission is given for changes to
a listed building it will be subject to strict conditions about how the
work is done.
In addition to the national list, there is now a local list for
our City. Buildings on that list do not get the same degree of
protection - the listing is more of a notice to owners and prospective
developers that the building is of local importance and that importance
will have to be recognised in any proposals affecting the building,
other wise planning permission will not be granted. In addition to
buildings the local list can contain areas, such as parks, which cannot
be statutorily listed.
Neither the national list nor the local list is closed. The statutory
lists are reviewed from time to time and buildings can be listed at short
notice in an emergency (a process known as "spot listing"). The city
council continues to conduct area by area surveys and buildings are added to
the list either in whole blocks or one at a time when an individual case
arises.
And buildings now on the local list can be moved to the national list if
the government decides to list them statutorily..
If you think that a building which is not listed ought to be listed,
please tell a member of the committee. Likewise if you see something
happening to a listed building which you think might not have the
appropriate permission, tell a committee member. Or contact the Conservation
Team at the City Council, Civic Centre. You will find them very helpfull.
Remember that buildings can be listed either for their architectural
interest or
for their historic interest. Knowing the history of a building - what events
happened there, who lived there - can therefore be important.
All of this information can readily be added to or altered. So all
corrections, contributions, suggestions, additions, etc., are very welcome.
Our pages do not contain the full, architectural, description of each
building. If you want to see the full official description of any listed
building, go to the City Council's Regeneration and Transportation
Department's enquiry desk (on the second floor of the Civic Centre) and
ask to see it.
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