Consultation on Improvements to the system of Listed Building Consents

Government’s response to the Penfold Review of Non-Planning Consent (“Implementation of the Penfold Review”, BIS, November 2011) included a commitment to seek public consultation on simplifying the Listed Building Consent (LBC) system through measures to reduce the circumstances in which LBC is required and reduce the level of information applicants are required to submit, thus reducing burdens on developers and allowing the public agencies which administer these consents to focus upon the highest risk areas and to deliver a more efficient service. 

Potential measures were set out in the document. Wide-ranging pre-consultation discussions with heritage practitioners produced additional options for change. It is on both sets of options that we are consulting now. All are intended to meet the Penfold Review objectives, while ensuring that heritage assets are conserved in a manner appropriate to their significance, in line with the objectives of the NPPF, and at the same time to avoid increasing burdens on local planning authorities.