The Building Conservation Directory 2020

164 T H E B U I L D I N G C O N S E R VAT I O N D I R E C T O R Y 2 0 2 0 C AT H E D R A L C O MM U N I C AT I O N S Listed buildings are graded according to a variety of factors such as rarity and completeness, with grades I and A being the most important, but all listed buildings are equally protected, whatever the grade, inside and out. The grade or category may have some bearing on ‘the desirability of preserving’ whichever feature or component of the building is to be changed, but interiors are rarely inspected when the building is first listed and an application for LBC may reveal levels of rarity and completeness inside that are not even hinted at externally. Each case is considered on its own merit, irrespective of grade. The grade or category is, however, used to determine how an application is administered in Britain. Local authorities are required to consult the national statutory body on applications for LBC where a building is to be demolished, but where alterations are proposed, Cadw and Historic England are consulted on proposals to alter Grades I and II* listed buildings only, and Historic Environment Scotland is consulted on categories A and B. In Northern Ireland the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities is consulted on all applications for LBC. Buildings which are of a lower grade or category than those in the table opposite have no statutory protection, although local planning policy may seek to protect them through the control of development. These are called ‘locally listed’ buildings in England and ‘record only’ in Northern Ireland. CONSERVATION AND CHANGE The core criterion on which all applications for LBC are judged is the ‘desirability of preserving’ the heritage asset affected. In this context the term preserving has been defined through case law as ‘keeping safe from harm’. Since almost any alteration may be considered as harm, including the natural wear and tear that comes through use, it is the desirability of preserving the subject that is held to be the guide to the most appropriate solution. LBC applications are therefore required to show: • why the building or component affected is significant in heritage terms • how that significance will be harmed by the proposal, and • how that harm can be justified. As Planning Policy Wales (6.1.13) puts it: “Applicants for listed building consent must be able to justify their proposals, show why the alteration or demolition of a listed building is desirable or necessary and consider the impact of any change upon its significance. This must be included in a heritage impact statement, which will be proportionate both to the significance of the building and to the degree of change proposed.” For a minor alteration this can therefore be a relatively simple document. Larger historic buildings in particular may be expected to have to accommodate significant change many times over the years. Harm can often be mitigated or largely avoided by making the alterations reversible. New components such as The magnificent interior of the former offices of the Refuge Assurance Company in Manchester, designed by Alfred Waterhouse and completed in 1895: the building has been successfully adapted for hotel use and is listed Grade II*.