About listed buildings and places

The need for permission

Listing is a tool to identify buildings and places that should be celebrated as having special heritage interest. Changes to them need to be carefully considered to make sure they can continue to be shared and enjoyed by future generations.

Listing doesn’t freeze a building or place in time. It simply brings it under the closer consideration of the planning system, meaning that you’ll need to apply to make changes that will affect the special interest of your listed building.

If you want to undertake works that only require permission because your building or place is listed, we won’t charge a fee.

Planning applications and Heritage Impact Statements

You’ll need to do an impact assessment as part of your planning application if you’re proposal affects:

a Listed building
a Listed place
the setting of a Listed building or place
an Area of Archaeological Potential

Check if a building or place is Listed or has archaeological potential

Details you’ll need to provide in your statement

The information you provide in an impact statement will vary depending on the type of heritage or archaeological asset affected. Your statement should be no more than is necessary to reach an informed decision about the impact of your proposal. If you consider there to be little or no impact, the reasons for this should be set out and justified in your impact statement.

All heritage impact statements will need to set out an understanding of the significance of the building or place. Each protected building or place has a Statement of Significance as part of its listing schedule. This is the starting point to understand the specific importance of the asset and site and against which, assess the impact of any proposed change.

Check if a building or place is Listed or has archaeological potential

To produce the impact statement, the building or place will need to be assessed to:

improve and show an understanding of the Listed building or place
review the significance of parts of the building affected by proposals including the setting and context
any particular issues the building or site exhibits and any links to the cultural heritage of the Island

From the understanding of significance and the specifics of the Listed building or place, the proposals for change and new proposals will need to ensure that they:

don’t damage the heritage special interest
anticipate any potential impact on the different heritage elements and proposes action to reduce that impact
make use of appropriate materials
are located in an appropriate place
use an appropriate approach to restoration, reconstruction and the proven reinstatement of lost features
are of a suitable scale and do not impact on the setting of the host Listed Building or other

Listed Buildings or Listed Places in the context

The heritage impact statement will set out how the design of the proposed development has been shaped by a consideration of the building’s heritage value and how adverse impacts have been avoided, mitigated or reduced.

Where an appraisal has been completed and a statement submitted as part of a planning or other such application the department would expect the information to be held in the public domain, and when appropriate, held in the historic environment record.

Heritage Impact Statement for listed buildings and places

If your planning proposal affects a Listed building or place you should submit a heritage impact statement. Your impact statement should:

set out an assessment and understanding of the site’s heritage value. In the case of Listed buildings, this may also include its interior
assess the impact of the proposed development, whether beneficial, harmful or negligible on the Listed building or place
demonstrate how the design of the proposed development has been shaped by a consideration of the building’s heritage value and how adverse impacts have been avoided, mitigated or reduced

Heritage Impact Statement for the setting of a listed building or place

The setting of a Listed building or place is the surroundings in which that heritage asset is experienced. Its extent is not fixed and may change. Setting often extends beyond the property boundary, or ‘curtilage’, of an individual historic asset into a broader landscape context. The contribution that setting makes to the significance does not depend on there being public rights or an ability to access or experience that setting. Understanding the significance of a heritage asset will enable the contribution made by its setting to be understood. This will be the starting point for any proper evaluation of the implications of a development affecting setting.

Your heritage impact statement for the surrounding area of a Listed building or place should:

identify which heritage assets and their settings are affected
assess whether, how and to what degree these settings make a contribution to the significance of the heritage asset(s)
assess the impact of the proposed development, whether beneficial, harmful or negligible on that significance
demonstrate how the design of the proposed development has been shaped by consideration of setting issues and how adverse impacts have been avoided or minimised

A proper assessment of the impact on setting will take into account of, and be proportionate to, the significance of the asset and the degree to which proposed changes enhance or detract from that significance and the ability to appreciate it.

When assessing any application for development within the setting of a Listed building or place the department may need to consider the implications of cumulative change and the fact that developments that materially detracts from the Listed building or place’s significance may also damage its economic viability now, or in the future, thereby threatening its ongoing conservation.

Heritage Impact Statement for windows and doors of a listed building

If your proposal involves changing or replacing windows or doors in a Listed building, you will need to submit a heritage impact statement. Your impact statement should:

provide a description of the likely age and state of repair of each window or door to be replaced and a justification for each replacement setting out why it is considered to be beyond repair
an elevational scaled drawing and photograph of the existing window(s) and door(s) to be replaced individually and within the context of the facade
elevational scaled drawing of each replacement window(s) and door(s) at a scale of 1:20 and joinery details at a scale of 1:5, with details as to how, in the case of windows, they are to open

Traditional windows and doors (planning advice note)

Archaeological Impact Statement for listed places or Areas of Archaeological Potential

If your proposal affects a Listed place or an Area of Archaeological Potential (AAP), you’ll need to commission a desk based assessment from an archaeologist, which can also be called an archaeological impact statement. Your impact statement should:

set out an assessment and understanding of current information for the site’s heritage value to assess the archaeological significance, determine the likely deposits and their potential survival
define the scope and assess the impact of the proposed development, whether beneficial, harmful or negligible, on the Listed place or AAP
propose suitable mitigation measures to demonstrate how the archaeological value of the site can be preserved, managed or recorded and how adverse impacts have been avoided, mitigated or reduced

Where an archaeological interest is known or thought to exist, and the development is likely to affect it, a desk-based assessment will be required. If a desk-based assessment reveals that the impact on archaeological interest is likely to be significant further, more detailed and / or intrusive pre—decision archaeological evaluation may be necessary. Project briefs by the department can be provided to inform different levels of evaluation.

Archaeology

Works to the interior of a listed building

Building work and other alterations inside a listed building, which constitute development as defined in the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law, require planning permission.

Other works to the interior of a listed building which do not amount to development may still require consent in listed buildings which are Grade 1, 2 or 3, particularly where they affect surviving historic features such as:

historic joinery fittings such as staircases, fireplace surrounds, doors, moulded architraves, wall panelling and internal window shutters
historic structural timber features such sa ceiling beams and joists, original timber roof frames and early wide floorboards
historic decorative plasterwork ceiling mouldings, cornices and central roses
historic ironwork such as fireplace grates and fire surrounds
integral original stonework features such as fireplaces, niches and stairs
a distinctive or innovative plan form dating from before 1850

We offer pre-application advice about the need for and how to apply for permission.

Managing change in historic buildings

Changes to a listed building or place

The need to apply for permission doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t make changes to a listed building or place in the future, it just means that the impact of any change upon its special interest will be carefully considered. The application process enables a decision to be made that balance the building or place's special heritage interest against other planning issues which can include function, condition or viability, amongst others.

Other consent for building works may also be required under the Building Byelaws.

Carrying out repairs to a listed building

If you are considering work on a Listed building or place we recommend you get advice from a suitably qualified or experienced professional.

It is best to get pre-application advice from us about whether permission is required to undertake repairs as there are limited permitted development rights (works that can be undertaken without the need for consent) for works to listed buildings and places.

Publication of Heritage Impact Statements

It is important to learn about and share the information we hold about the Island’s heritage. Once a heritage impact statement, desk based assessment, conservation plan, recording or monitoring report have been produced this adds to our understanding of heritage in Jersey. The greater level of understanding all practitioners, owners and historic specialists on the Island have of the historic environment the more likely it is that we manage future changes and the care of our historic environment in a sensitive and appropriate manner.

The publication of impact statements on the Planning Register and within the heritage environment record ensures there is a consistent approach to managing our heritage with the ultimate aim to hand on a carefully conserved historic environment in viable uses to future generations.