Making changes to a listed building or place

​​​​Why you need permission to make changes

You need permission to make changes or repairs to a listed building or place to protect the site’s special heritage interest.

This includes changes that can affect:

• a listed building or listed place
• an area of archaeological potential
• a building, a structure or land in conservation areas or its setting
• the setting of a listed building or place

To get permission, you need to submit a heritage impact statement (HIS) with your planning application.

Information you need for your planning application

Your HIS helps us understand how your proposal could affect the site's significance. Listed buildings, places and conservation areas are protected because of their historical, architectural, archaeological, artistic or cultural importance. Conservation areas may also be protected because of their historic character.

The listings process and grades

You might not need permission for all works depending on the grade of a listed building and the scale of the of repairs you want to do.  For advice contact planning@gov.je.

Managing change in historic buildings

Building byelaws

Supplementary planning guidance (SPG)

Getting advice for your changes or repairs

We strongly recommend you get planning advice as early as you can when considering work or changes to a listed building or place. This will help you prepare what you need for a planning application and avoid delays.

Homeowners or small businesses can get in person advice from a duty planning officer at the Customer Hub on Union Street. This includes advice on:

• minor changes
• repairs
• developments

You don’t need to make an appointment and it’s free.

Find out more about pre-application in person advice.

For larger developments we strongly recommend you use our written pre-application advice service. This is free of charge.

Pre-application planning advice

You can find the list of major and minor planning application categories.

Changes you need permission for

There are not many interior or exterior changes or repairs you can make to a listed building without permission other than some minor repairs.

Whether you need permission depends on the grade of the listed building and if the changes will affect surviving historic features.

Internally these features can include:

• historic joinery fittings such as staircases, fireplace surrounds, doors, moulded architraves, wall panelling and internal window shutters
• historic structural timber features such as 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 

Externally these features can include:  

• traditional windows and doors 
• gutters, down pipes and facia boards
• slate or tile roofs or chimneys and chimney pots
• masonry walling and pointing
• render 
• decorative features such as under floor ventilation grills, decorative metal work, garden walls and railings

You always need permission if you:

• change any material for a different material
• change any external door or window
• add new structures to the building, yard or garden
• do any building works

What you need for a heritage impact statement (HIS)

A heritage impact statement explains how a proposed development may affect a listed building, place or its setting.

It must focus only on heritage issues. Information about how a proposal improves the use or function of a building or site should be included in a separate Planning Statement.

The level of detail required will depend on:

• the scale of the works
• the nature of the proposal
• the significance of the heritage asset affected

Every listed building or place has a statement of significance as part of its listing schedule. This is the starting point to understand the specific interest of the asset and site. You’ll be able to use this to help judge the impact of any proposed change.

You can search the historic building map to check your building or site’s listing, grade and significance.

Search the historic buildings map

Writing your statement

If your changes are minor, you can prepare the statement yourself using our heritage impact assessment template.

Heritage impact assessment template

For larger or more complex work, you need a qualified professional to complete the statement. We recommend you use a heritage specialist.

You should write your HIS early in the design process to:

• make sure your proposed designs take account of the special heritage interest of your building or site
• help your application meet planning requirements
• avoid delays

What your statement must include

Your statement should:

• identify the heritage significance of the listed building or place affected
• explain how the proposal may impact the building, place or site and its setting
• describe any potential negative impacts on the heritage significance
• explain how negative impacts have been avoided, reduced or managed through design changes
• show how the design of the proposal has been informed by the heritage value of the building or place and its setting

Your proposal must demonstrate that it:

• doesn’t harm the special interest of the listed building or place
• considers impacts on the different heritage elements of the building, place or area and its setting
• proposes measures to reduce impacts on the site and its setting
• uses the appropriate materials
• proposed works are located in an appropriate location
• uses an appropriate approach to repair, restore, reconstruct and proven reinstatement of lost features
• is of a suitable scale and doesn’t harm the setting of the listed building or place, others in the area

You may also need to consider and include:

• the impact of ongoing or cumulative change
• whether the development will reduce the heritage significance of the listed building or place
• whether harm to significance could affect the building or place’s long-term economic viability and conservation

Changes to windows and doors

If your proposal involves altering or replacing windows or doors in a listed building, your statement must include:

• the likely age and condition of each window or door to be replaced
• justification for replacement, explaining why repair is not possible
• photographs of each existing window or door, both individually and within the wider elevation
• scaled elevational drawings of existing windows and doors
• scaled drawings of proposed replacement windows and doors at: 
• 1:20 for elevations
• 1:5 for joinery details
• details showing how replacement windows will open

You should also check the planning guidance on traditional windows and doors.

Impacts on the setting

The setting of a listed building or place is the surroundings in which it is experienced.

This may extend beyond the property boundary, or ‘curtilage’, into a broader landscape or townscape context. The contribution of setting to significance doesn’t depend on public access.   

Your statement should:

• identify which heritage assets and their settings are affected
• assess how and these settings contribute to the significance of the listed building or places
• evaluate whether the proposal has a beneficial, neutral or harmful impact
• explain how the design has been shaped to avoid or minimise harm to setting 

When assessing development within the setting of a listed building or place, we may also consider cumulative impacts. Development that significantly harms heritage significance may also affect economic viability and long term conservation.

Impact assessments for archaeological places and areas

If your proposal affects a listed place or an area of archaeological potential (AAP), you must have a desk-based assessment (DBA) carried out by an archaeologist. This is also known as an archaeological impact statement.

The DBA may recommend further works to be undertaken before or during construction.

Find more information on how archaeology is considered in a planning application.

Submitting your statement

Once the works you propose have been designed and plans drawn you need to submit your heritage impact statement (HIS) with your planning application and other documents on the Planning and Building portal.

Planning and Building portal

If you’re having difficulties using our online services contact planning@gov.je. 

Find out more about the planning application process.

How we use your HIS

Heritage impact statements and related documents are published in the planning register. They may also be held in the historic environment record on Jersey Heritage​.

This is to make sure planning applications are considered fairly, transparently and that we have a consistent approach to managing changes to our heritage assets.

Using a heritage specialist

You should get advice from a qualified or experienced professional when planning to do work on a listed building or site.

The following organisations provide forms of accreditation for heritage specialists in Britain:

• The Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC)
• The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Conservation Register
• The Register of Architects Accredited in Building Conservation (AABC)
• The Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) Conservation Accreditation Register
• The​ Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA)
  
• ​Conservation Accreditation Register for Engineers (CARE) 

We will also consider professional advice from other national accreditation bodies.

We can’t recommend specific individuals or organisations.