What is Listed Building Consent and when do I need it?
Listed Building Consent (LBC) is a statutory consent, required under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, for any works that affect a listed building's special architectural or historic character — including many internal alterations. It is separate from planning permission and must be secured before work begins; carrying out unauthorised works is a criminal offence.
Read the full guide →What is a Statement of Heritage Significance?
A Statement of Heritage Significance (SoHS) describes what makes a heritage asset important — its evidential, historical, aesthetic, and communal values — before any specific design is assessed against it. Local planning authorities expect one to support Listed Building Consent and planning applications for listed buildings.
Read the full guide →What is a Heritage Impact Assessment?
A Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) evaluates how a confirmed set of proposed works would affect the significance of a heritage asset, and whether any harm is outweighed by the proposal's public benefits. It is a core document for Listed Building Consent submissions and builds directly on the Statement of Heritage Significance (SoHS).
Read the full guide →What does the HeritageAI PPHA include?
The Preliminary Planning and Heritage Appraisal (PPHA) is generated automatically by HeritageAI's AI from the details you provide, and sent to you by email for £195 — summarising designation status, applicable policy, likely consent requirements, risk level, and recommended next steps. It is a first read to help you plan, not professional advice, and it is not individually reviewed by a person before it is sent.
How does the August 2026 NPPF apply to listed building projects?
The National Planning Policy Framework published in August 2026 restructured historic environment policy into Chapter 20, as policies HE1 to HE10, with decision-making policies in force from 17 August 2026. Any harm to a heritage asset's significance is weighed against the public benefits of a proposal, and the older term "less than substantial harm" no longer appears in the Framework.
Read the full guide →Can I insulate a listed building or fit a heat pump?
Yes, in many cases — but you'll need Listed Building Consent first, and the August 2026 NPPF now names energy efficiency and low-carbon heating measures as public benefits in their own right, which strengthens the case. This doesn't make consent automatic: the work still has to be designed to minimise harm to historic fabric, case by case.
Read the full guide →Can AI produce submission-ready heritage planning documents?
HeritageAI's automated first-read stage, the PPHA, is not a submission-ready document and is not reviewed by a person before it's sent — it's built to help you plan, using prompts written to Historic England guidance and the current NPPF. Anything intended for submission to a council, from a Statement of Heritage Significance onward, should be reviewed by a qualified architect or heritage consultant first.
Do conservation areas add extra requirements?
Yes — works within a conservation area may need additional consent beyond anything required for the listed building itself, since the local planning authority also has to assess impact on the area's wider character and appearance. HeritageAI checks designation data, including conservation area status, as part of its PPHA assessment.
I’m an architect — is HeritageAI for me or for my clients?
Both, in different ways: practices use HeritageAI to carry out the heritage research and produce the documents themselves, or to appoint SOANE Architects to produce them, while homeowners use it to understand what their listed building needs before they appoint anyone. See the For Practices page for how the practice route works.
I own a listed building — do I still need an architect?
Yes — for design, site visits and formal submission, an architect (or equivalent qualified heritage professional) is still required. HeritageAI helps you understand what your building needs before fees are committed to the wrong approach, so the architect you appoint starts from an informed brief.
How much do HeritageAI’s reports cost?
One price list applies to everyone: £195 for the Preliminary Planning and Heritage Appraisal (PPHA), and £500 each for the Statement of Heritage Significance, the Heritage Impact Assessment and the Planning and Heritage Statement. There is no subscription, membership or trade price — see the full price list for what each stage includes.
When do I actually pay?
You pay on download, stage by stage — never in advance, and never as a recurring charge. For the Heritage Impact Assessment specifically, one price covers every round of drafts for the project, and you pay only when you download the submission version.
Who is actually allowed to write a heritage statement?
There’s no legal requirement that a heritage statement be written by a specific type of professional — what matters to a case officer is the quality of the evidence and assessment, not the author’s job title. In practice, most are written by a heritage consultant, a conservation architect, or the architect leading the project, and whoever writes it is responsible for its accuracy before it’s submitted.
Read the full guide →