City of Edinburgh Council
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Listed
Buildings
Listed Building Consent
Conservation Areas
Conservation Area Character
Appraisals
World Heritage Site
Is my building listed
or in a conservation area?
Conservation
Area Maps
Edinburgh's distinctive character is based on its topography, its architectural
heritage and the unique form of its historic environment. Historic buildings
and conservation areas are a vital part of this character. The quality, interest
and substantial number of these in Edinburgh reflects its long history.
Listed
Buildings
are defined as Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic
Interest and are divided into 3 categories, A, B and C. Listed buildings range
in scale from the Forth Rail Bridge to small statues such as Greyfriars Bobby,
and large historic mansions to small domestic cottages.
The Statutory List for Edinburgh
contains around 4,500 items. Many of the single items on the Statutory List
are tenement blocks or terraces with many individual houses. Consequently there
are approximately 22,000 separately owned properties which are Listed, the largest
number in any British local authority area.
Listed
Building Consent
If you are proposing
to demolish, alter or extend your listed building, you may need listed building
consent in addition to other consents.
It is important to remember that both the inside and outside of the listed building is protected by listed building status and also any building or structure within the grounds built before 1st July 1948
You can find out more about Listed
Buildings by clicking (External)
here
to view Historic Scotland's booklet Scotland's Listed Buildings.
Conservation
Areas
are Areas of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. There
are 38 very diverse conservation areas in Edinburgh; including the medieval
Old Town, the Georgian New Town, Victorian suburbs and former villages.
The Council has a duty to ensure
the protection and enhancement of these areas and this is done through the application
of statutory and non-statutory policies and guidance when dealing with new development.
Additional planning controls apply
in conservation areas and development that would normally be classed as “
permitted development”, such as the formation of a hard standing for a
car, requires planning permission. Article 4 Directions, which remove certain
permitted development rights, also apply in several conservation areas and it
is always best to write to us before proceeding with any work
The primary aim of the Council's
conservation policies is to preserve the historic fabric and special character
of the city and to ensure that changes, whether large or small, complement and
add to its character. A further objective is to promote new architecture of
the highest quality.
Conservation Area
Character Appraisals
provide a detailed assessment of the essential
character of conservation areas. Their principal purposes are to define the
key elements, essential features and special qualities that contribute to each
areas architectural and historic interest, and to reinforce the Council’s
policy objectives of promoting, protecting and enhancing the environment.
Click
here
to find out more about Character Appraisals.
World Heritage Site
Edinburgh's international
importance as a historic city was recognised in December 1995, when the medieval
Old Town and the Georgian New Town were inscribed on UNESCO'S List of World
Heritage Sites. This represents international recognition that the historic
centre of Edinburgh is of outstanding universal value and exceptional interest.
Inscription as a world Heritage Site has no immediate consequences in terms
of statutory protection.
Click here to find out more about the Edinburgh World Heritage Site.
Click (External)
here
to link to the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust website.
If you have any questions about listed buildings or conservation areas, please
contact the Planning Help Desk on 0131 529 3596, or write to CEC City Development
Office, 1 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh EH1 1BJ. Alternatively you can email the
Planning Help desk on
helpdesk.planning@edinburgh.gov.uk
Click (External)
here
for Historic Scotland’s website.
Is my building
listed or in a conservation area?
You can find out if your building is a listed building or in a conservation
area by following these instructions:
Click here to access the Planning & Building Control Portal home page.
Click
View
Planning
Applications Online.
Click on
Property Search
(left of page).
Property Search Page – Select the
Street Group
then enter
the
Street Name
and click
Search
.
Matching Properties Page – Search for required address and click on
View
Details
of required property.
Selected Property – Click on
Constraints
(towards top
of page).
Conservation
Area Maps
You can view Conservation Areas in 2 formats by clicking on the links below.
If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free from Adobe by
clicking the yellow Acrobat button below.
Gilmerton
(pdf)
Gilmerton
(jpg)
