Your Listed Building and Its Curtilage

If you own a listed building, then you’ll probably be well aware of the strict rules that govern what you can and cannot do to the fabric of your building.  What you may not know is that each listed building is surrounded by a zone of influence known as a ‘curtilage’ and that any structure within this zone is subject to the same degree of protection as the listed building itself.

Sound simple? Unfortunately, it isn’t. There are more than 400,000 listed buildings in England alone, yet none of these includes a clearly defined boundary of its curtilage.

Historic England and CADW keep a record of all designated heritage assets in their respective areas, including listed buildings, scheduled monuments and registered parks and gardens.  However, the descriptions of these assets often fail to record the features that form their curtilage and add to their character.  As you might well imagine, therefore, curtilage is something that has been defined and redefined in many legal cases since its inclusion in the Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.

To cut a long list of legal cases short, a curtilage includes any object or structure that falls within the grounds of the listed building when the property was first listed, or that was present on the land before 1948.  This has been extended by case law to include three further tests:

• Did the listed building and curtilage structure share a single historic ownership?
• Are the designated asset and its structure close enough to be included in the same listing?
• Did they both share the same function historically and at the time of the listing?

Under these rules, anything deemed to be within the curtilage of a listed farmhouse will be protected, be it a stable, a barn, a milking parlour or even a garden shed. As with the main farmhouse, it is a criminal offence to alter or remove anything that is curtilage listed without first seeking Listed Building Consent from your Local Planning Authority.

There’s absolutely no need to be alarmed however, help is always at hand. If you’d like to work out the extent of your curtilage, or you think you may fall within the curtilage of a neighbour’s building, Berrys has a team of heritage consultants who can cut through the confusion and advise you on the best course of action to take.

Please contact Phoebe Farrell on 07775 925358 email phoebe.farrell@berrys.uk.com.