Some buildings and parks and gardens in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area are nationally recognised for their architectural or historical interest. These are included in the National Heritage List for England. This is controlled by Historic England.
Listed building consent
To ensure that these ‘listed buildings’ are preserved for future generations, most kinds of alterations need special permission, known as listed building consent. Development close to a listed building or garden also needs to be designed in a way that respects its setting.
You can apply for listed building consent online or download a paper application form using the planning portal. Below you can find a list of:
- listed buildings in the Bournemouth area
- Grade I and Grade II listed buildings in the Christchurch area
- heritage assets including listed buildings in the Poole area.
Historic England have published an advice note for owners of listed buildings to help judge whether proposals need consent.
Locally Listed Buildings
We also have our own list of buildings that we think are important to the local area but aren’t listed by Historic England. This is known as the ‘Local List’.
Locally listed buildings are not controlled with the same legislation as nationally listed buildings. The current Local Plans contain policies on how we deal with applications for alterations, extension or demolition of these buildings.
Below you can find:
- locally listed buildings in the Bournemouth area
- locally listed buildings in the Christchurch area
- heritage assets including locally listed buildings in the Poole area including an illustrative guide A-M and N-Z.
At the beginning of 2022 we ran a consultation seeking nominations to create a comprehensive list across Dorset. Nominations are now closed, but you can find further information on our Dorset Local Heritage List webpage.
Key sources for heritage information
In order to identify, describe and assess the particular significance of any heritage asset that may be affected by development proposals (including any contribution made by their setting) it may be necessary to consult various public records for historic maps, photographs and other documents and those available on the internet, including:
- Dorset Historic Environment Record
- Heritage Gateway
- The National Heritage List for England
- Poole Historical Trust
- Poole Museum
- Poole Maritime Trust
- BCP library service
Key sources for maintenance and repair of traditional buildings information
Maintenance and repair of historic buildings is an ongoing activity that can be costly and difficult to plan if it is not managed and undertaken on a regular basis. Economic conditions, changing weather patterns and the impacts of climate change are affecting the way traditional buildings are cared for and managed. Fortunately there is a significant amount of current advice publicly available for property owners and managers: