How New Planning Laws Could Affect Owners of Listed Buildings
The next wave of planning reform in England is gathering pace—and owners of listed buildings sit right in the crosshairs. The government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill (introduced in March 2025) aims to expedite decisions, unlock housing and major infrastructure, and revamp the system’s resource allocation. Alongside it, ministers have updated the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and launched a review of who gets a statutory say on applications. Together, these changes could subtly—but materially—shift the balance between growth and heritage, with knock-on effects for maintenance decisions, valuations and insurance.
Faster decisions, tighter performance—and a new focus on fees
The Bill proposes performance measures for local planning authorities and other process improvements to accelerate decision-making. One clause also raises the question of whether Listed Building Consent (LBC)—currently free—could, in time, attract charges set locally. Heritage bodies warn that introducing LBC fees would deter best-practice applications for small, routine works that conserve significance. For now, LBC applications remain free; however, recent planning fee increases elsewhere have heightened scrutiny of “zero-fee” regimes. Owners should watch this space.
If LBC fees are introduced later, expect two practical consequences. First, more detailed budgeting should be done upfront for maintenance and minor alterations (e.g., joinery repairs, sympathetic services upgrades). Second, insurers will likely expect closer evidence of compliance because a financial barrier to applying can correlate with a higher risk of unauthorised works—something underwriters already discount for. Insurers have long treated compliance and proper conservation methods as risk-mitigating.
Who gets a say? The statutory consultee shake-up
In March 2025, ministers announced a review of statutory consultees with the intention of removing a small number, including the Gardens Trust and Theatres Trust, to streamline decision-making. Heritage groups argue that their advice is timely, proportionate, and prevents harm; losing their automatic input could mean less specialist scrutiny of proposals affecting historic parks, gardens, and theatre buildings. For listed owners near or within registered landscapes, that could translate into more development pressure around these settings, and a greater case-by-case advocacy burden falling on individuals and local groups.
Why this matters for insurance: the setting of a heritage asset can influence both market value and the cost of reinstatement to an appropriate standard. If development around your site becomes easier, valuation assumptions (and sums insured) may need to be reviewed, especially for properties whose significance is closely tied to their landscape character.
Big-ticket projects and the “planning balance”
The Heritage Alliance has welcomed several streamlining moves but raised a red flag over provisions that may allow the disapplication of heritage regimes in specific large infrastructure projects. While the details will be finalised through secondary legislation and practice, listed owners near proposed rail, road, or energy corridors should track these schemes early. Once statutory heritage tests are diluted or rerouted, mitigation opportunities can narrow.
The wider policy tide: housing and “grey belt”
NPPF revisions and ministerial statements set a clear direction: deliver 1.5 million homes and fast-track nationally significant infrastructure. Expect firmer housing targets and, in some areas, release of lower-quality green belt (“grey belt”) land. That raises cumulative impacts on conservation areas and the settings of listed buildings at town edges and in growth corridors. Owners should anticipate more plan-making activity (local plans, spatial strategies) and engage early to shape site-specific design and mitigation.
Practical implications for listed owners
1) Budgeting and compliance. Continue to assume LBC remains free today—but plan for potential future fees. Build a modest contingency for application costs and professional advice. Early, high-quality submissions reduce queries and protect insurability by demonstrating due diligence.
2) Document everything. Insurers are increasingly requesting proof of consent for alterations and evidence of conservation-grade methods when offering insurance for listed properties. Keep a register of approvals, method statements and photos; it shortens claims handling and supports accurate reinstatement valuations.
3) Watch the consultees—and fill any gaps. If specific statutory consultees are sidelined, consider commissioning your own landscape/heritage statements when neighbouring development looms. That can bolster objections, condition wording or design changes that protect significance (and thereby your asset’s value and risk profile).
4) Track major schemes. For owners near strategic infrastructure, set alerts and monitor project portals from the scoping stage; the earlier you engage, the more leverage you have in aligning, screening, vibration management, and construction methods that could otherwise introduce damage risks.
5) Plan-led resilience. As new plans roll forward under the Bill and the revised NPPF, work with civic societies and parish councils to ensure that heritage policies and design codes are robust. Good local wording on “setting”, views and materials specification can save you years of incremental erosion—and keep insurers comfortable about long-term risk.
Bottom line
The direction of travel is clear: faster decisions and more building, with debate over how much automatic heritage input remains and whether owners will start paying for LBC. None of this removes your statutory duties to preserve significance, but it may change the process and costs associated with doing so. Stay compliant, proactive, and well-documented, and review sums insured and risk management with your broker whenever local policies or major schemes change around you. That’s how you protect both the fabric—and the insurability—of your historic home in a fast-changing system.
