020 7131 9703Request a fixed quote
Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule

Planning

Heritage statements for London homes

A heritage statement explains what is historically or architecturally important about your property or its street, and shows the council how your proposal respects it. We write it alongside the drawings, from £579, so the words and the plans tell the same story. The council's own application fee is paid to the council.

From £579, no VAT to add

  • MCIAT chartered
  • £2m PI insured
  • LABC Partnered
  • Fixed fees, no VAT to add

Request a fixed quote

We use it to check conservation areas and constraints.
Pick the council that decides your application.
A few lines: what you want to build, and anything the council has already said.
Add photos or drawings

Drop files here or choose from your device

PDF, JPG, PNG, DWG · up to 10 files, 90 MB in total

    The fixed fee for heritage statements

    Fixed fee
    from £579
    Total you pay
    from £579
    Council fee
    paid to the council separately

    No VAT to add. The fee is fixed in writing after a free constraints check of your address.

    What you get

    • Identification of every heritage asset your scheme touches
    • A desk study of the historic environment record, appraisal and maps
    • A statement of significance in plain English
    • An assessment of what your proposal changes and why it is acceptable
    • Written to match your drawings, ready to submit
    • Answers to the conservation officer's questions
    Request your fixed quoteCall 020 7131 9703
    Architectural model of a four-storey London stucco townhouse in its terrace, with a portico, area railings, sash windows, a cornice and chimney stacks
    The house as it stands: four storeys over a lower ground floor.Existing Proposed worksAn illustrative model, built for this page.

    How we work on heritage statements

    Seven steps from first call to approval.

    The same model cut through the middle: every floor, the stair, the chimney breasts, the new mansard, rear extension and basement in section
    Section through the model: every floor on one datum.

    1. Enquiry and constraints check

      We check the property against conservation areas, listed status, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, flood zone and planning history. We choose the right route and send a fixed quote.

    2. Measured survey

      We survey the house on one datum: rooms, levels, boundaries, drains, trees and the neighbours' windows that the 45° and 25° tests depend on.

    3. Design options

      We model the house in Revit and show you options in 3D and plan, with the planning strategy and the precedents in your street.

    4. Design frozen

      You choose an option in writing. Nothing changes after this without your say.

    5. Independent check

      A second chartered technologist checks every sheet against the council's validation checklist and the policy. A senior review signs it off before anything is submitted.

    6. Submission

      We prepare the forms, certificates, fee and documents and submit through the Planning Portal.

    7. Officer liaison

      We answer the planning officer and make any amendments within five working days, at no charge until approval.

    Free redraws until approval. Every drawing set is checked independently, and the checker is never the person who drew it.

    Request a fixed quote

    When the council asks for one

    A London street can sit inside a conservation area, or back onto a listed building, without anything on the front door saying so. Neither stops you building. Both mean the council must look at your application with a particular question in mind: what does this change do to the historic place?

    The national guidance puts the burden on the applicant. In its words: "Applicants are expected to describe in their application the significance of any heritage assets affected." The planning policy framework repeats it for any scheme touching a historic asset: "An assessment of the significance of the assets, including any contribution made by their setting."

    If your application is missing that assessment, a validation officer can refuse to register it. That costs weeks before a case officer has read a single drawing.

    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street

    Why conservation areas and listed neighbours change the weighing

    Two Acts set the standard the council must apply. For a listed building the duty is: "Special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses." For a conservation area it is: "Special attention to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of that area."

    Government policy then tells the decision-maker how heavily to weigh harm: "Substantial weight should be given to the asset's conservation." A heritage statement is where you show that your scheme either avoids harm or that the harm is slight and outweighed.

    Conservation areas also narrow your permitted development options. They sit within what the General Permitted Development Order calls article 2(3) land, described as "National Parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty and conservation areas etc." That is often the reason a project that looked simple needs a full planning application after all, and the application then needs the statement. Our lawful development certificate page explains when permitted development still applies.

    What goes into the statement

    A good statement is short and specific. It identifies each heritage asset your proposal could touch, says in plain words why each matters (its age, materials, group value, the way the street reads), and then describes what your scheme changes and what it leaves alone.

    The guidance sets the right length: "The level of detail should be proportionate to the asset's importance and no more than sufficient to understand the potential impact of the proposal on its significance." A rear dormer on a terrace in a conservation area needs a few focused pages. A scheme beside a listed building needs more.

    We start from the historic environment record, which the guidance describes as "Publicly-accessible and dynamic sources of information about the local historic environment." We add the council's conservation area appraisal, old maps and a walk of the street, then match every observation to a drawing.

    For landlords and investors

    A statement on a rental or a buy-to-let conversion has to survive a conservation officer who reads for harm. We keep the argument to what the building and its street actually show, and we say where a change is small and why it is small.

    If you are weighing several properties, the same facts can feed a pre-purchase report before you commit, and a design and access statement will often be needed in the same pack. A heritage statement and a design and access statement overlap; we write them so neither repeats the other.

    How we work

    You send the address and what you want to build. We check the designation, read the council's appraisal and tell you in writing whether a statement is needed and how heavy it should be.

    Our drawing team writes the statement, usually in step with your planning drawings. You read it before anything goes in. We upload it with the rest of the application, and if the conservation officer comes back with a question, we answer it.

    A heritage statement supports your application; the council still makes the decision, and we cannot promise one. Where the officer asks for changes to the drawings, we revise them.

    The national rules in figures

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    NPPF chapter 20, policy HE5: what proposals affecting heritage assets should come withAn assessment of the significance of the assets, including any contribution made by their setting—gov.uk
    NPPF chapter 20, policy HE6: weight given to designated heritage assetsSubstantial weight should be given to the asset's conservation—gov.uk
    Planning practice guidance, historic environment, paragraph 009: what applicants are expected to doApplicants are expected to describe in their application the significance of any heritage assets affected—gov.uk
    Planning practice guidance, historic environment, paragraph 009: how much detailThe level of detail should be proportionate to the asset's importance and no more than sufficient to understand the potential impact of the proposal on its significance—gov.uk
    Planning practice guidance, historic environment, paragraphs 010 and 011: historic environment recordsPublicly-accessible and dynamic sources of information about the local historic environment—gov.uk
    Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 66(1): duty for listed buildingsSpecial regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses—legislation.gov.uk
    Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 72(1): duty for conservation areasSpecial attention to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of that area—legislation.gov.uk
    GPDO 2015, article 2(3): land where permitted development is narrowerNational Parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty and conservation areas etc—legislation.gov.uk

    A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.

    Which application your project needsLawful Development Certificate decision: 8 weeks. Prior approval decision: 42 days. Householder decision: 8 weeksYour projectWithin permitted development?Lawful Development CertificatePrior approvalHouseholder applicationYesLarger rear extensionNoABC

    Which application your project needs

    The usual route for a house; flats and listed buildings follow other rules.

    A · Lawful Development Certificate decision
    8 weeks
    B · Prior approval decision
    42 days
    C · Householder decision
    8 weeks

    What you receive

    Planning drawing sheet for a rear extension with plans, elevations and sections
    Sample drawing. Planning drawings for a rear extension: plans, elevations and sections on one sheet set.
    Georgian brick terrace with sash windows, arched fanlight doorways, stone steps and iron railings in London
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Questions

    Do I need a heritage statement if I only live near a listed building?

    Possibly. The setting of a listed building counts, so a scheme visible from it can trigger the requirement. The council's validation list tells us; we check it before you pay for a statement you do not need.

    Is a heritage statement the same as a design and access statement?

    No. A design and access statement explains your design and how people reach the building. A heritage statement assesses the historic significance and the effect of your scheme on it. Some applications need both.

    Can the statement stop the council refusing?

    No statement can promise a decision. It gives the case officer the evidence to find that the harm is small or absent, which is what the policy asks them to weigh.

    I am buying a flat in a conservation area. Does the block's designation matter to me?

    It can, if you plan external changes such as new windows, a roof terrace or a rear extension. We can set out the likely position before you buy.

    Sources and dates

    City of London skyline glowing at dusk across the Thames under a dramatic orange sky

    Tell us about your property.

    We check the constraints, then send a fixed fee. Messages before 3pm get a reply the same working day.

    Request a fixed quoteCall 020 7131 9703WhatsApp