Commentary on Sections Part 3 — Buildings of special architectural or historic interest Chapter 2 — Control of works affecting listed buildings Section 90 — Applying for listed building consentSection 91 — Notice of application to owners of building
318.Section 90 provides for the application procedure for listed building consent. Applications for listed building consent are ordinarily made to the planning authority in whose area the listed building is situated. However, certain applications, specified in section 90(1), are made to the Welsh Ministers.
319.Subsection (2) sets out what must be included in an application for listed building consent and subsection (3) allows the Welsh Ministers to make regulations about an application’s form and content and how it must be made. In practice, most listed building consent applications for works in Wales are submitted on the standard 1APP form provided on the Welsh Government’s central online platform — Planning Applications Wales. However, an applicant can also submit an application form, with supporting documentation, by post.
320.Subsection (4) provides that the Welsh Ministers must make regulations to require an applicant to include with the application a statement — known as a “heritage impact statement” — about the impact of the proposed works on the character of the listed building and, depending upon the nature of the application, either or both of the design principles applied to the works and the handling of access issues. A heritage impact statement is the outcome of a heritage impact assessment. This process is more fully explained in Cadw’s non-statutory, best-practice guidance, Heritage Impact Assessment in Wales (2017), which is kept under review.
321.Section 91 provides that the Welsh Ministers may make regulations to require an applicant for listed building consent to give notice of the application to any owners of the building. This will ensure that owners have an opportunity to make representations regarding any works proposed to the listed building.