Listed Buildings

Listed Buildings are officially defined as buildings of "special architectural or historic interest". As required by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act, 1990, such buildings are included on a list compiled by the Government Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Within North Norfolk there are over 2200 Listed Buildings; of these 95 are Grade I (exceptional interest); 199 are Grade II* (outstanding interest) and 1,956 are Grade II (special interest). You can find out whether your building is listed by using the two search facilities listed below.

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Listed Building Search Facilities

In the searches below, if the property or structure you are looking for does not appear in your search results, it may still be a listed building. There are two main reasons why it may not appear:

I  The name or number of the property / structure may have changed since the time of listing.

II  The property / structure may not be listed in its own right but it could still be listed through its position within the curtilage or
grounds of a listed building.   For a curtilage building to be considered listed, it must satisfy a number of tests:

1. It must pre-date the 1st July 1948.
2. In geographical or physical terms, it must be closely related to the principal listed building.
3. It must have been in the same ownership as the principal listed building;
   a) at the time of listing (in the case of buildings listed on or after the 1st January 1969 when legislation for curtilage listings was
   introduced), or
   b) at the 1st January 1969 (in the case of buildings listed before this date).
4. It must have served an ancillary or supporting function to the main listed building;
   a) at the time of listing (again in the case of buildings which were listed on or after the 1st January 1969), or
   b) at the 1st January 1969 (in the case of buildings listed before this date).

It is therefore always wise to check with North Norfolk District Council to see whether your property/structure is listed before commencing any works.

• The HERITAGEGATEWAY website provides a single point of access to historic environment records on England held both locally and nationally. Partners of Heritagegateway include English Heritage, The Institute of Historic Building Conservation and the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers.
  Its advanced search allows you to search by County, District and Parish and choose which database you want to use. Detailed Listed Building records are available as well as historical and contemporary images although the images are displayed in separate sections of the search results.
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• Search North Norfolk District Council's database of Listed Buildings.    Note that there are NO photographs available, despite the link.  Full details and locations of all the Listed Buildings within North Norfolk are held at the Council's Cromer Offices. 
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Listed Building Management

Listed buildings are a finite resource which must be conserved for future generations to enjoy. The Local Planning Authority plays it part in this through the Development Control process and by taking enforcement action against unauthorized work.

Ultimately, however, the responsibility for keeping a Listed Building in a reasonable state of repair must rest in the first instance with the owner. Each owner is effectively a temporary steward or custodian of the building as well as present legal owner. In instances where the owner fails to take reasonable steps to preserve a Listed Building, the District Council can serve a Repairs Notice, specifying the works reasonably necessary for the proper preservation of the building. This is, however, a last resort as voluntary compliance is always preferable. It should also be borne in mind that a little maintenance today can often prevent bigger repair bills building up over time.

In terms of grant aid, the Local Planning Authority unfortunately does not currently have any money available for the repair of Listed Buildings. English Heritage does have a budget available for the repair of important Grade I and II* Listed Buildings. Please visit the Grants section of their website for more information. Also, the Architectural Heritage Fund is a registered charity promoting the conservation of historic buildings by providing advice, information and financial assistance in the form of grants and low interest working capital loans for projects undertaken by building preservation trusts and other charities in the UK.

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For further information on Listed Buildings in North Norfolk please contact North Norfolk District Council's Conservation and Design Section:
Tel: (01263) 516131/516138 or
Fax: (01263) 514802 or
email: conservationanddesign@north-norfolk.gov.uk. You may also wish to visit our Planning pages.