Alterations and Extensions to Listed Buildings

If a building is listed, this does not necessarily mean that it cannot be altered or extended. However, if you wish to demolish a Listed Building or to alter or extend it in any way that affects its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest, you must apply for Listed Building Consent from the District Council.
Commencing work without such consent will result in a criminal offence being committed under Section 9 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act, 1990, for which the penalties can be heavy.

Listed Building status applies to the interior and exterior of the building, as well as to any objects or structures fixed to the building, whether original or later additions. It also covers any objects or structures within the curtilage of the building which, although not fixed to it, form part of the land and have done so since before 1st July 1948, e.g. outbuildings, statues and boundary walls. Consequently, applications for Listed Building Consent may be required for a variety of works, including internal alterations, replacement windows and for the conversion of curtilage buildings. Even fairly minor proposals such as re-decoration and re-pointing may require consent. It is therefore always advisable to check with the District Council to find out whether any applications are required and whether they are likely to be received favourably

Applications for Listed Building Consent will be in addition to any Planning Permission you need. In most cases, however, the two applications are best dealt with together. In addition to the completion of the necessary Listed Building Consent forms (available for download below), the Local Planning Authority will also require the following information in order to assess the impact of the proposals on the building:-

• A Heritage Statement explaining the significance and development of the Listed Building.
• A Design and Access Statement detailing the thinking behind the proposed alterations or extensions and what impact they will have on the special character of the Listed Building.
• An accurate and up to date location plan to a scale of 1/2500 or 1/1250 with the application site outlined in red,
• A full set of properly drafted metric scale drawings of not less than 1/100 showing the layout of the building floor by floor, in plan form, both existing and proposed,
• A similar set of metric scaled drawings showing all the elevations of the building, both existing and proposed,
• Where internal spaces or structures are to be altered, internal elevations and sections, drawn to a metric scale, both existing and proposed,
• Where possible a full set of recent informative photographs of the building and its condition.

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NNDC Downloadable Guides and Application Forms for Listed Buildings

• Application for Listed Building Consent for alterations,  extension or demolition of a listed building.  Planning Portal 1APP form No.11    (pdf 538KB)
• Application -  Planning Portal Help text    (pdf 39KB)
• Application -  Local and National Planning Application Requirements for 1APP form No. 11 (pdf  62KB) 
• Listed Building Ownership Certificates (Notice 1 is not yet on the 1APP form) pdf 19kb and MS Word 38kb

Other planning application forms are available on our Planning Application Forms and Guidance Notes page.

When applying for Listed Building Consent, applicants must be able to justify their proposals and show why works affecting the character of the building are desirable or necessary. They should provide the District Council with full information to enable it to assess the likely impact of their proposals on the building and its setting.

Adherence to the following general principles will increase the likelihood of an application being received favourably:

• any necessary alterations should be kept to an absolute minimum and should be carried out using compatible materials and techniques. They should also be reversible wherever practical.
• any necessary replacement features should follow the detail and form of the existing, like for like; i.e. doors, windows and guttering etc. Where the existing feature is itself a modern replacement, the new work should be appropriate for the period and character of the building and ideally based upon proper photographic evidence.
• in designing essential new extensions, attention should be paid to respecting the scale, design and proportions of the existing building.
  The words 'necessary' and 'essential' have been emphasised to stress the importance of keeping building works to a minimum. Please refer to Chapter 5 of the North Norfolk Design Guide which provides more information on work to Listed Buildings.