Planning

The Historic Environment

In this section

Malvern Hills has 1,890 listed buildings, 21 conservation areas and 54 scheduled monuments. There are 6 nationally registered parks and gardens.

Please use the drop-down list below to find the information you need:

Listed Buildings

A listed building is a structure of special architectural or historic interest (also referred to as significance). Both the interior and exterior protected.
These buildings have been identified as worthy of protection by the Government with the advice of Historic England who maintain the national list.
There are three grades for listing: Grade I (the highest) Grade II* and Grade II.

Search for a listed building

It is important to note that list descriptions provided by Historic England are for identification only and do not constitute a comprehensive list of all important features of that structure. The building and anything attached to it is considered to be listed.

Legislation for listed buildings can be found via the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.

Curtilage

Some buildings are protected as curtilage buildings. These will not show up on the national list or My Local Area website searches as they are protected by the listing of the listed building rather than being listed in their own right. Whether a building is curtilage listed or not is determined by the Local Planning Authority and can be confirmed upon enquiry. You will find information about our advice services below.

Advice

We offer bespoke advice for both Malvern Hills District Council in two ways:-

Free verbal advice
For a fee, formal written advice

Heritage and Listed Building Free Advice Service

Our Heritage and Listed Building Free Advice provides accessible, expert-led initial guidance on heritage and listed building matters. Our aim is to help customers understand their responsibilities and options before proceeding with their project.

Who can use the service

The service provides free informal advice to individuals and organisations involved with the care, alteration, or development of heritage buildings in the districts in the districts of Malvern Hills.

How to book

Appointments can be booked using our online form provided by Microsoft Bookings, using this button below:

Book an appointment

If you are unable to use his form, you can call us on 01386 565000 and we will help you to book an appointment. Meetings are held via MS TEAMS or by telephone.

Benefits of using the service include:

Selecting from available slots convenient for you
Appointment reminders and confirmations
Direct verbal feedback and advice on your project
Ability to choose from different types of advice including: repairs and maintenance to historic buildings, alternations and/or extensions to historic buildings, scope to install sustainable or energy saving measures on listed buildings, advice on buying an historic building and other general heritage-related advice.

Bookings are only available for the time slots shown. If no suitable appointments are currently available, you will need to check back and book later or seek advice using our Heritage and Listed Building Formal Written Advice Service described below.

What you will receive once you've booked

You will receive emails confirming the appointment, including links you can use to join the meeting on MS Teams, to add the appointment to your electronic diary, and to reschedule or cancel your booking. If you need to cancel or reschedule and cannot find this email, contact us at 01386 565000 we can help you.

At the meeting you will receive a free 20-minute online advice session as follows:
• Format: Verbal advice only via Microsoft Teams or a telephone meeting 
• Duration: Strictly limited to 20 minutes 
• Frequency: Limited to one session per customer per calendar year

Content is limited to advice relating to historic buildings and structures, in the context of planning and listed building legislation.

We may also be able to provide advice on matters such as general maintenance and repairs, but will be unable to advise in detail on matters relating to technical trades. Our advice may include:

General heritage and listed building advice
Clarification on whether listed building consent is required, and whether associated planning permission may also be required 
High-level advice about how to apply for Listed Building Consent
High-level guidance on conservation principles, maintenance and repairs
Signposting to relevant resources or services, including where to go to seek professional advice from qualified advisors or builders

All consultations are confidential and comply with relevant data protection regulations. Please see our privacy notice for more information at Privacy Notice.

Not included in the free service

The following are not included in the free 20 minute session:

• Written advice or documentation of any kind, including follow up emails.
• Site visits or site-specific assessments 
• In-depth, detailed assessment of plans, drawings, or technical documents 
• Confirmation of a statutory decision in lieu of an application 
• Any follow-up beyond the verbal discussion 

What we cannot provide advice on

Our qualified and experienced heritage officers will provide you with advice about planning-specific heritage matters. We are not however able to offer detailed advice relating to matters such as structural engineering or skilled trades. If you require such advice you will need to seek it through appropriate independent professionals.

If you require advice from other officers or relating to planning-related specialist topics such as advice regarding other planning permissions, ecology, arboriculture, landscape or building control, you will need to use Planning Advice Services. You can find out more by visiting our Pre-Application Advice.

Heritage and Listed Building Formal Written Advice Service

If you need any of the below services, you should seek advice through our heritage and listed building formal written advice services or from independent consultants or tradespeople.

Advice exceeding 20 minutes 
Written responses or formal documentation 
A site visit 
In-depth detailed review of and feedback on proposals or plans

You can submit a request for heritage and listed building formal written advice at

Submit a pre-application advice request

In the development type dropdown list please choose ‘Works to a listed building’. Note this service is subject to a fee. You can find out more on the Pre-Application Advice page.

We strongly advise you to ask for advice in one of the two ways above BEFORE carrying out any work.

While we can provide advice about repairs and maintenance of historic structures, we do recommend seeking the advice of a professional contractor where necessary, such as a conservation accredited structural engineer, surveyor or architect.

Formal planning consent

Our free Heritage and Listed Buildings Advice Service does not remove the need for you to obtain the relevant planning consents for your project. These include:
• Listed Building Consent 
• Planning Permission 
• Building Regulations Approval 
• Any other statutory consents that may be required under national or local legislation

It remains the responsibility of the applicant or property owner to ensure all necessary permissions and consents are obtained before starting any works. Failure to do so may result in enforcement action or legal consequences.

Listed Building Consent

We can advise you whether works require Listed Building Consent either verbally or in writing, as set out elsewhere. If works do require Listed Building Consent, you can submit your application using the button below.

Submit listed building consent application

Listed Building Consent applications are FREE

Applicants will need to provide a Heritage Impact Assessment and Design and Access Statement. These usually require the involvement of a registered architect or charted building surveyor and will have costs attached.

These statements can be used for any parallel planning applications.

They should address the following:

Design principles and concepts
Scale, layout, and appearance of proposals
How the design has considered the significance of the building
What that significance is
How the significance is visible in the building
The significance of the building’s setting
An explanation of why the work is necessary and what alternatives were considered

Additional guidance can be found at Historic England Guidance on Statements of Heritage Significance

Please be aware the work you are proposing may also require a Planning Application. For guidance on and the submission of a Planning Application please read our advice and guidance: Pre-Application Advice and Making a Planning Application

Guidance on submitting applications:

Other sources of information relating to heritage, conservation and listed buildings

Below are a few guidance documents and other resources that may help you:

Understanding Listed Building Significance & Maintenance, from Historic England - This resource offers detailed guidance on how to understand and assess the significance of a listed building, which is essential when planning any changes: Historic England: Assessing Significance webpage

Maintaining and Repairing Traditional Buildings, from Historic England - This resource provides practical advice on maintaining and repairing older homes, including listed buildings, using appropriate materials and techniques. Historic England: Maintain Repair webpage

Finding Qualified Architects and Contractors, from Historic England - This resource lists professional registers and explains how to choose architects, surveyors, and contractors with the right conservation experience: Historic England: Finding Specialist Help

Finding other Specialist Help, from Historic England - This resource offers a searchable directory of vetted builders on the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). These builders are experienced in listed building and heritage work. FMB: Listed Buildings and Heritage webpage
The Government provides advice about enhancing and conserving the historic environment, and information about the legal framework and process for obtaining listed building consent in England. This can be found at: GOV.UK: Conserving and Enhancing the Historic Environment

Frequently asked questions

What does listed building mean?

What it means and the impact of listing can be found on the Historic England website.

What happens if I carry out work without consent?

Any works carried out without consent to a listed building or curtilage listed building is deemed a criminal offence where it detrimentally affects the character and significance of that building.
The criminal offence entails the potential for a fine or imprisonment.
Legal action can be taken against any person responsible for and carrying out unauthorised works. Therefore, the owner, professional agent and contractors can all be liable.
Enforcement action can be taken by the Council to ensure works are carried out to restore the building to its state prior to the carrying out of unauthorised works or to alleviate the impact of said works.

Are there other resources available?

Additional support and guidance can be found at the following sources:

Conservation Areas

Section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 provides for Malvern Hills District Council to designate "areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance" as Conservation Areas.

The effect of designation is to give the council powers to control the demolition of non-listed buildings, and the felling, lopping or topping of trees must be the subject of prior notification. There is no right of appeal against designation.

These regulations aim to protect the character of the area, but successful conservation is a positive mixture of preservation, conversion and sympathetic new development and so all local authorities must from time to time review their designated conservation areas, to make sure that their controls are still effective.

There are 21 Conservation Areas within the Malvern Hills district.

The conservation section has embarked upon a programme of conservation area appraisals and management strategies including a review of the boundaries.

Every local authority is obliged to undertake this work under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.

Find out more about conservation area appraisals.

Useful resources

Please note that these website addresses are given for information purposes only, and do not imply any endorsement of the website supplier or the content of these external sites, and the council carries no responsibility for the accuracy of any information on the websites concerned.

Historic Parks and Gardens

Historic Parks and Gardens has been established as a designation since 1983, nationally listed by Historic England through the government and locally registered by Local Planning Authorities. The sites included cover anything from planned open spaces, such as town squares, to gardens and grounds.

Malvern Hills has 6 nationally registered parks and gardens:

Abberley Hall
Croome Court
Pirton Park
Madresfield Court
Kyre Park
Witley Court

A register has been compiled of the nationally registered sites by Historic England. Search the register on the Historic England website.

Locally Registered gardens can be received on request from the Heritage Team at the Council via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For further information please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Useful links: