§ Sir Anthony Grantasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of buildings or structures classified as listed in each of the last 10 years in (a) Cambridgeshire and (b) England as a whole.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneThe following table gives the total number of listed buildings at 31 December for each year stated. Information is not available for Cambridgeshire for the years 1974 and 1979.
Year England Cambridgeshire 1974 207,643 — 1975 227,155 — 1976 241,604 — 1977 251,575 — 1978 259,870 — 1979 266,685 — 1980 273,318 4,695 1981 280,195 4,762 1982 287,744 5,834 1983 308,857 7,034
§ Sir Anthony Grantasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out in the Official Report the precise administrative procedure whereby a building or structure can be classified as listed; in particular, who has the power to nominate such a building or structure in the first instance; and what right of appeal exists for the owner.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneUnder the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 the Secretary of State is required to compile lists of buildings of special architectural or historic interest. The criteria for listing are set out in DOE Circulars 23/77 and 12/81. Most buildings are selected following area surveys carried out, or supervised, by professional inspectors of the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, but my Department will consider requests from local authorities or amenity societies to list individual buildings. When a building is listed the district council serves notices on every owner or occupier and the listing is entered as a local land charge. Owners and occupiers are not consulted at listing stage but have a formal right of appeal to the Secretary of State against subsequent refusal by a local planning authority to grant consent for the alteration, extension or demolition of a listed building.