Commentary on Sections Part 3 — Buildings of special architectural or historic interest Chapter 3 — Listed building partnership agreements Section 113 — Listed building partnership agreements
411.Section 113 sets out the possible parties to a listed building partnership agreement and what such an agreement may do.
412.Subsections (1) and (3) establish that an owner of a listed building or part of a listed building may enter into a listed building partnership agreement with the planning authority in whose area the building is situated or the Welsh Ministers.
413.In practice, listed building partnership agreements will routinely be made between owners and their respective planning authorities. Although agreements between owners and the Welsh Ministers are permitted by the legislation, at the time of writing they are only likely to be made when local authorities are the owners of the listed buildings. While a planning authority may, in some situations, determine its own listed building consent applications (see paragraph 362 above), it might still wish to enter a listed building partnership agreement with the Welsh Ministers to benefit from the long-term efficiency savings that an agreement can offer.
414.Other persons with an interest in the listed building, as identified in subsections (2) and (4), may also be parties to the agreement.
415.Subsection (6) provides that a listed building partnership agreement may grant listed building consent under section 89(1) for specified works for the alteration or extension of the listed building to which it relates. This power is used to grant permission for beneficial works for the conservation and management of the listed building. The works specified will need to be negotiated and agreed by the parties to the agreement and conditions may be attached to the consent (and subsection (7) provides that any such conditions must be specified in the agreement).
416.An agreement cannot, however, grant consent for the demolition of a listed building. Demolition works would require separate listed building consent obtained through the routine application procedure.
417.A listed building consent contained in a listed building partnership agreement is not subject to the provisions in section 98 about when works must start. A consent for works that have not been started will remain valid for the lifetime of the agreement, which may last for 10 to 15 years.
418.Subsection (8) sets out a wide range of matters relating to maintenance, conservation and management that the parties may also agree to include in a listed building partnership agreement. Paragraph (a) permits the parties to specify works that in their view would or would not affect the character of a listed building as a building of special architectural or historic interest and consequently would or would not require listed building consent. This would allow the parties to identify clearly routine maintenance works or like-for-like repairs (with details of methods and materials) that could proceed without consent since there would be no loss of historic fabric or effect on the character of the building. Equally, the parties would be able to outline more substantial works — for instance, the restoration or reconstruction of elements of the listed building, or major additions or alterations — which, due to their complexity or sensitivity, could not be adequately provided for in a listed building partnership agreement. Those works would require the full consideration of the separate listed building consent procedure (sections 90 to 98).