A listed building is acknowledged by the Secretary of State to be of special architectural or historic interest.

In the context of listing, the term building is used very widely and includes not only buildings such as houses, churches, schools and barns, but also walls, tomb stones, milestones, ice houses, bridges and locks, telephone and post boxes.

The responsibility for deciding which buildings have special architectural or historic interest falls to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who has a statutory duty to produce a “list” of such buildings, known as Greenbacks.

The part of the list covering Huntingdonshire can be inspected at our offices.

Once listed, a building has special protection under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and we have additional powers of protection. Extra responsibilities are also imposed on owners, for example the need to obtain listed building consent for certain works. It is an offence to carry out works to a listed building without consent.

When is a Building Worthy of Listing?

In brief, the following are normally listed:

All buildings built before 1700 which survive in anything like their original condition.
Most buildings of about 1700 to 1840, although some selection is necessary.
Between 1840 and 1914 greater selection is necessary. Only buildings of definite quality and character are listed.
To identify the best examples of particular building types, between 1914 and 1939, selected buildings of high quality only are listed.
Buildings less than 30 years old are normally only listed if they are of outstanding quality and under threat. Buildings less than 10 years old are not listed.

Principles of Selection

Buildings are listed for their architectural interest, technological innovation, historic interest or association, a good example of their type or group value. Listed buildings are allocated one of three grades; Grade I, II* or II.

While the grading is taken as an indicator of the relative importance of the building it has nothing to do with the legal requirements that apply to it.

The broad classification of Grades is:

Grade I – buildings of outstanding national interest (about 2% of listed buildings fall within this category).

Grade II* - particularly important buildings of more than special interest (some 4% of the overall total).

Grade II – Includes 94% of all listed buildings, representing a major element in the historic quality of our towns, villages and countryside. These are buildings of special interest.

While the Secretary of State has ultimate responsibility for the list, local authorities, amenity societies, or other bodies or individuals may propose that a building be added to the list. In such cases, the Secretary of State will seek the advice of English Heritage before making a decision.