Listed building meaning

A letter of intent (LOI) can be put in place before the formal agreement and signing of a building contract (or sub‑contract) so that certain design tasks and/or works may commence at an early stage as necessary and appropriate. This Checklist outlines the principal points a contractor should weigh and the drafting it ought to seek, or ask to be inserted, to secure a clear, binding letter of intent on a construction project. Although the terms ‘contractor’ and ‘employer’ are used, the same principles also apply to dealings between a contractor and a sub‑contractor. When negotiating or preparing a letter of intent, not every point listed below will be pertinent; users must assess each matter against the particular circumstances. See Practice Note: Letters of intent—construction for further guidance on letters of intent. Key issues and clauses Are the parties’ particulars fully and accurately recorded? Make sure the employer’s and contractor’s full details are set out at the start of the letter of intent (including full company...

This Checklist summarises the principal due diligence issues for conservation areas in Scotland. It clarifies the effect of a property lying within a conservation area designated under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 (P(LBCA)(S)A 1997), including tighter planning controls, possible Article 4 directions, and notification duties for works to trees... It outlines the consequences of undertaking demolition without planning permission or conservation area consent, covering enforcement action and criminal liability with no time limit. It also flags how potential breaches are identified and what the due diligence report should address. This forms part of wider guidance on planning in Scotland-see: Planning for property lawyers in Scotland-collection... Conservation areas are parts of localities designated under P(LBCA)(S)A 1997, s 61, as areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance. See further: Designation of conservation areas: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia [315]... What are the implications of the property being in a conservation area? Planning...

Conservation areas are neighbourhoods or districts identified and designated under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (in England) and the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023 (HE(W)A 2023) as places of particular architectural or historic interest, whose character or appearance it is desirable to protect or enhance. See Practice Notes: Conservation areas in England and Conservation areas in Wales for further guidance. What are the implications of the property being in a conservation area? If the property lies within a conservation area: planning controls are tighter—permitted development rights are generally more limited in conservation areas; some conservation areas may additionally be subject to specific Article 4 directions, which restrict permitted development even further (see: Permitted development—overview and Practice Note: Article 4 directions) in England, conservation area consent is not needed for the demolition of any buildings. Proposals to demolish such buildings are determined by the local planning authority (LPA) via a formal application for planning permission accordingly. See Practice Note: Planning...

In this issue Key DR developments Claims and remedies Costs and funding Litigation Applications—general Evidence and disclosure Appeals New content Dates for your diary Useful information Daily and weekly news alerts Key DR developments CPR Committee minutes Minutes of the CPR Committee meeting—6 June 2025: The Civil Procedure Rule Committee met on 6 June 2025 in a hybrid session at The Rolls Building (Royal Courts of Justice) and via video conference. The minutes confirm a forthcoming CPR 51 pilot enabling non-parties to obtain court documents, arising from the Supreme Court ruling in Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd v Dring [2019] UKSC 38. They also record approved amendments to the e‑working pilot, progressing towards a permanent electronic filing system as part of ongoing court modernisation. Further topics included summary assessment of costs, arbitration updates, disclosure, civil restraint orders, closed material procedures, judicial review reforms for infrastructure projects, whiplash reforms, digital services and other procedural...

R (on the application of Andrew Rickards) v East Hertfordshire District Council [2025] EWHC 2278 (Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? For Part 6 agricultural prior approvals, the ruling clarifies that although the GPDO (SI 2015/596) grants permission in principle, authorities must still reach—and evidence in the case officer’s report—a targeted assessment of implementation, expressly addressing effects on designated assets, including: ancient woodland, where refusal is the norm absent wholly exceptional justification; and listed buildings, where great weight attaches to conservation, including their setting. Silence is unlikely to be cured by a charitable reading on review and risks being quashed. Declarations of unit size backed by a planning statement can suffice without disproportionate enquiries or a site visit, yet applicants should proactively grapple with nearby constraints, and the GPDO site-notice duty must be strictly satisfied. What was the background? The claim arose from a judicial review of a decision granting prior approval for the installation of...

Epping Forest District Council v Somani Hotels Ltd and others [2025] EWHC 2937 (KB) What are the practical implications of this case? The decision confirms that an injunction under TCPA 1990, s 187B is a rare, last-ditch measure, to be used only where standard enforcement would fail or be disproportionate. Local planning authorities must show that routine tools—such as an enforcement notice, stop notice, or a certificate of lawfulness—were properly explored and found wanting. Even where a breach of planning control is acknowledged, the High Court may withhold relief if powerful public interest considerations exist, for example the Home Secretary’s statutory obligation to house asylum seekers under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The judgment underscores the mounting friction between local planning oversight and national emergency accommodation policy. LPAs should keep thorough, contemporaneous records justifying why urgent injunctive relief is necessary, and should not rely on public objection, protest activity, or political pressure as proof of planning harm. Developers and hotel operators should recognise that refusing an injunction does...

Practice Note: Planning—enforcement When it appears to a local planning authority (LPA) that planning control has been breached, it may, at its discretion, take enforcement action under Part VII of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990). For these purposes, section 171A of the TCPA 1990 defines a breach of planning control as: undertaking development without the necessary planning permission, or not complying with any condition or limitation attached to a planning permission This Practice Note explains in detail how a breach of planning control is established, when development acquires immunity from enforcement, and the factors an LPA should weigh when deciding whether to proceed with formal measures. Its focus is on the range of steps available to an LPA in response to a breach of planning control. The Practice Note does not address enforcement concerning listed buildings. For that, see Practice Note: Listed buildings enforcement and criminal liability regime in England. For context on its relevance to conservation...

Breach of planning control and enforcement action Under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990), any breach of planning control can be met with enforcement measures. For these purposes, a breach of planning control is understood to mean: undertaking development without the requisite planning permission — this presumes that an unauthorised operation or a material change of use has occurred which amounts to development within TCPA 1990, s 55, that such development requires planning permission, and that no permission has been secured When determining whether a breach of planning control has arisen in this context, the applicable guidance and case law on the meaning of ‘development’ must be applied; see Overview: Is planning permission required?...

Within this Practice Note, references to the ‘Secretary of State’ are to be read as including the Welsh Ministers, and any distinctions in policy or legislation are highlighted. What is a 'called-in application'? Ordinarily, planning applications and applications for listed building consent are decided locally by the relevant local planning authority (LPA). The Secretary of State, however, retains a reserve ability to require the LPA to submit an application for a decision by the Secretary of State rather than leaving the matter to the LPA; this is the ‘call-in’ power. Only a small proportion of planning applications are called in. There is no statutory obligation on the Secretary of State to exercise the call-in power. Legal basis for call-in The call-in power has its origin in: section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990), covering applications for planning permission or permission in principle...

Notice of acceptance—Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, section 6 To: [ name of landlord's agents ] of [ address of landlord's agents ] acting as agents for [ name of landlord ] of [ address of landlord ] (the 'Landlord'). We, [ name of agents of qualifying tenants ] of [ address of tenants' agents ], as agents for the persons whose names and addresses are listed in the schedule below, hereby give you notice as follows: This notice concerns the document (the 'Offer Notice') about rights of first refusal pursuant to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, section 5 (LTA 1987), which you served on [ date of Offer Notice ], relating to [ describe the building or part of a building containing flats affected by the proposed disposal ] (the 'Property')...

Schedule of amendments to the jct MEASURED TERM contract 2024 The Contract consists of the executed Measured Term Contract 2024 (MTC 2024) issued by the JCT, subject to the amendments listed below: ARTICLES Articles 5 and 6 – Articles 5 & 6 [See drafting note] Article 8 – Arbitration: delete Article 8 and state “Not used.” Article 10 – Insert a new Article 10 as follows: “Article 10 [To be added on the face of the contract] The Employer and the Contractor confirm that the alterations in the attached Schedule of Amendments (as initialled by the parties) are incorporated into this Contract, and the provisions of the Agreement, the Conditions, and the Schedules appended to the Conditions shall take effect as amended by the Schedule of Amendments, which together constitute the ‘Contract’.” ...

Schedule of amendments to the jct minor works building contract 2011 (as Modified by Amendment 1: cdm regulations 2015) ARCHIVED: This Precedent has been archived and is not maintained. This Contract comprises the executed JCT Minor Works Building Contract 2011, as varied by Amendment 1 (CDM Regulations 2015), and is additionally subject to the amendments listed below: Articles of agreement ARTICLES Article 7 – Arbitration Omit Article 7 and replace with: 'All references to arbitration in this Contract are deleted'. Article 9 Insert the following immediately after Article 8: Article 9 [ To be added on the face of the contract ] Schedule of Amendments The Employer and the Contractor agree that the alterations set out in the attached Schedule of Amendments (as initialled by the parties) are incorporated into this Contract, and that the Articles of Agreement, the Contract Particulars, the Conditions,...

Regulation 12(6) of the Building Regulations 2010 (the 2010 Regulations), SI 2010/2214 (SI 2010/2214, reg 12(6)) Regulation 12(6) removes the need for a building notice or full plans where the works are solely those in Schedule 3 (by the corresponding registrant) or in Schedule 4. Schedule 3 includes door replacements: 10: Replacement of a window, rooflight, roof window or door in an existing dwelling—by BM Trada Certification Limited; CERTASS Limited; Certsure LLP; Fensa Limited (Fenestration Self-Assessment Scheme); NAPIT Registration Limited; Network VEKA Limited; or Stroma Certification Limited. 11: The same in a non-dwelling—excluding load-bearing or structural glass, glazed curtain walling and revolving doors—by BM Trada Certification Limited; CERTASS Limited; Certsure LLP; Fensa Limited (Fenestration Self-Assessment Scheme); or Stroma Certification Limited. Schedule 4, paragraph 1(h) covers replacing an external door where the door plus frame has not more than 50% of its internal face area glazed. If the door falls within Schedule 4, paragraph 1(h), no notice or plans are needed....

The Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 (EPC Regulations), SI 2012/3118 The Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 (EPC Regulations), SI 2012/3118 have applied since 9 January 2013. They place specific duties on owners of buildings they plan to sell or let to third parties. They implement Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council dated 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings. It is useful first to consider what is meant by a building under the EPC Regulations, SI 2012/3118. Under reg 2(1), a building is a roofed structure with walls where energy is used to regulate the indoor climate, and this will generally also cover a building unit within that building. The same regulation provides that a building unit is a section, storey or apartment within a building designed or adapted for separate use. It follows that the term extends to any building fitted with some form of heating or air-cooling plant that consumes energy. In addition,...