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The Country Landowners Association (CLA) estimate there are about half a
million listed buildings in the UK and a high proportion are in rural areas.
CLA members own and manage a large proportion of these and over the years
there has been a growing chorus of complaint about the entire system of Listed
Buildings and the impact it has on owners.
The CLA prompted a fundamental review by the Department of Culture, Media
and Sport of the statutory protection of historic assets - ie the Listed
Building System. In 2005 the Government transferred the
administration of the Listing System to English
Heritage. The purpose of this was to "streamline the system" whilst retaining
final jurisdiction with the Department.
A number of proposals were made by the CLA:
- Each listing should not only define the building but also give
a "statement of significance" explaining why it is of interest
and which features are important. This would be of enormous help when discussing
work on a listed building with the planners.
- The curtilage of the listed building would be defined at the time of
listing
- A system of appeal against a listing should be established
The CLA has an excellent section on the current Listing System here. This
describes in some detail how Listing affects your ability to maintain
or update a listed property or take energy efficiency measures. They
recommend always taking site-specific professional advice.
The Historic Houses
Association represents the owners of the very best
listed buildings - those listed Grade 1 and 2*.
The CLA, however, represents owners whose properties
mainly fall under Grade 2 listing (these can be very modest cottages)
and feels their proposals will help all owners and the ideas proposed
for new listings should be applied to existing listings as well. The
CLA are working hard to ensure all these improvements proposed in the
earlier consultation paper are actually implemented.
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