Designation

The Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2016 introduced a new requirement for formal consultation with the owner/occupier, the local authority and other persons with a special interest if the Welsh Ministers propose to:

• list a building, or 
• delist a building. 

From the beginning of a consultation on a proposal to list a building, the building in question will be subject to interim protection as if already listed. It will therefore be an offence to undertake any works that would affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest without listed building consent. Interim protection will last until the Welsh Ministers reach a decision on the designation. A list of buildings under interim protection is available on the Cadw website.

The owner or occupier of a newly designated building may request a review of the Welsh Ministers’ decision, but only on the grounds that the decision was unjustified. The Planning Inspectorate has been appointed to undertake all reviews on behalf of the Welsh Ministers and it will determine the most appropriate method or combination of methods for the conduct of the review.