When is a property given listed status.

[BlindPete]

I was thinking about how and when a building is given it’s listed status in England. The home I’m currently looking after to the best of my knowledge, ability and bank balance is between 350 and 400 years old.

However it is not on the listed register. Same thing with a few other similar cottages and farm buildings nearby.

The listed register shows a few houses are listed in the area. Is being listed a good or not so good thing?

Thanks for reading and possibly helping.

 

[fallschirmjager]

Listing is definitely good for the longevity and originality of the building but maybe not so good for those having to live in it, depending on what work needs to be carried out and whether the conservation officer in your area is a Hiltlerite or not.

My house was inspected for a possible listing by English Heritage in 2009 but it was deemed there weren't enough original features left to put it on the registar. I'm glad really as I've spent nearly 200k on the house and grounds which would have been much higher if it was listed and would have taken much longer to complete. It still retains wonderful character and I'm happy with it.

 

[Toby Newell]

I was thinking about how and when a building is given it’s listed status in England. The home I’m currently looking after to the best of my knowledge, ability and bank balance is between 350 and 400 years old.

However it is not on the listed register. Same thing with a few other similar cottages and farm buildings nearby.

The listed register shows a few houses are listed in the area. Is being listed a good or not so good thing?

Thanks for reading and possibly helping.

Most buildings over 200 years old are listed. Listing isn't automatic. You have to apply and by you I mean 'one' as in the royal sense, ie anyone can submit a listing petition to Historic England and they make their decision. The building can be relatively young, ie 1970s if they deem it interesting enough. The listing takes a snapshot of the current status and nothing materially can change without permission, even if it is to remove modern badly executed alterations and replace them with period appropriate remedies. In general, alterations that protect the building, occupants, general public or local environment from harm ie remediation to delapidations, are allowed. As falls says listing can make owning and working on a property much more stressful and expensive, especially if your local CO is a useless plonker, often many of them dont really know or care much about what they are doing, obviously there are also good ones about.

Ideally you would prefer an unlisted building then you always have the option of applying to get it listed after you have renovated.