Heritage Consultancy Services · Heritage Statements

Heritage Statements that make the case.

A Heritage Statement, now called a Heritage Impact Assessment following the National Planning Policy Framework published 17 August 2026, is the supporting document a planning or listed building consent application turns on. We write the statement that explains what’s significant, how the proposals affect it, and why the works should be approved, drafted for the conservation officer who has to decide.

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A Heritage Statement explains what is significant about a building or place, sets out the proposed works, and assesses how those works affect significance. It accompanies the planning or listed building consent application, and the local authority is required to consider it.

Since August 2026 the same document is formally called a Heritage Impact Assessment, and many local authorities still use both names. Whichever your authority asks for, our statements meet the requirement. A weak statement leaves the application stuck. A strong one gives the conservation officer the case they need to recommend approval.

When you need a Heritage Statement or Heritage Impact Assessment

When a Heritage Statement applies.

1.

Listed building consent applications

Every listed building consent application requires a Heritage Statement (Heritage Impact Assessment). The level of detail scales with the works. A window replacement and a full refurbishment do not need the same document, but both need a statement.

2.

Planning applications affecting heritage assets

The NPPF requires a Heritage Impact Assessment, still widely called a Heritage Statement, for any planning application that affects a designated heritage asset, its setting, or a non-designated asset of historic interest. This includes works to or near listed buildings, in conservation areas, within registered parks and gardens, or affecting scheduled monuments.

3.

Pre-application advice and outline schemes

A short Heritage Statement at pre-application stage often saves cost and time later. It establishes what the local authority will accept before the design is fixed.

What’s in the document

A Heritage Statement written to the right standard.

1.

Significance assessment

A clear, evidence-based account of what is heritage significant about the building or place. Drawn from listed building descriptions, historic mapping, archive research, and on-site inspection. This is the foundation of the rest of the document.

2.

Description of proposals

A precise description of what’s proposed, cross-referenced to the drawings. The conservation officer needs to be able to read the statement and the drawings together without ambiguity.

3.

Impact assessment

An honest assessment of how the works affect significance, element by element. This is the section that gives the Heritage Impact Assessment its name. Where harm is identified, it is named and weighed. Where there is benefit, it is set out. Mitigation is proposed where appropriate.

4.

Policy compliance

The statement is anchored to the relevant national and local policy framework: the NPPF, the local plan, the conservation area appraisal, and supplementary planning documents. The conservation officer must demonstrate policy compliance to recommend approval, and the statement gives them the material to do so.

What to expect

From instruction to delivery.

i.

Standard statement

For a typical residential or small-scale commercial application, we work to a two week timeline from instruction to delivery. Site visit and research in the first few days, draft for review by the end of week one, refinement and final delivery in week two, alongside the application package.

ii.

Larger or complex sites

Where the building is Grade I or Grade II*, where multiple heritage assets are involved, or where archive research is substantial, we agree a longer timeline at the outset. Most sit in the four to six week range.

A pre-application heritage note has a shorter scope and a faster turnaround, typically two to three weeks. Faster delivery is often possible where the case is straightforward. Tell us what you’re working to and we’ll tell you what’s realistic.

A strong Heritage Statement gives the conservation officer the case they need to recommend approval.

Recent work

A Heritage Statement that worked.

Project image: Nash Court

Grade II* Kent

Nash Court

A Grade II* manor house in Kent. A long-term plan for a building with five centuries of significance.

A Conservation Management Plan covering the principal house, curtilage outbuildings and historic landscape. Two listed building consent applications have followed adoption of the plan, both granted, with a continuing programme of fabric repair underway.

Read the full project →

Browse Heritage Statement projects by

Grade I Grade II* Grade II All Heritage Statement projects Residential Historic estates

Common questions

Heritage Statement FAQs.

How much does a Heritage Statement cost?

Our fee depends on the building, the works, and the level of research required. We work to a fixed fee agreed in writing before we start, with no hourly billing on standard work. Most residential statements fall within a predictable range. Tell us the address and we’ll come back within 24 hours with a figure.

Who needs to write the Heritage Statement?

There is no statutory requirement for the author to hold a particular qualification, but local authorities take the credibility of the author seriously. A statement from an established heritage consultant carries more weight than one written by the architect or owner. For listed buildings of any significance, and certainly for Grade I or Grade II*, a specialist author is expected.

How long does a Heritage Statement need to be?

There is no fixed length. The statement should be proportionate to the works and the heritage significance of the asset. A window replacement on a Grade II listed cottage may need five or six pages. A major intervention to a Grade I listed building may run to forty or more. The right length is what is needed to make the case clearly, no less, no more.

What is the difference between a Heritage Statement and a Heritage Impact Assessment?

None. They are the same document. Following the National Planning Policy Framework published 17 August 2026, the Heritage Statement is now formally named the Heritage Impact Assessment. If your local authority asks for either, the document we write satisfies the request, and we title it to match the wording your authority uses.

Can the Heritage Statement be challenged?

The local authority can disagree with the conclusions of the statement, particularly the assessment of significance and the weight given to harm. A well-evidenced statement, anchored to the listed building description, archive material, and policy framework, is harder to dismiss than one based on assertion. This is what specialist authorship buys you.

Do I need a Heritage Statement for a non-listed building?

If the building is in a conservation area, near a listed building, or affects the setting of any designated heritage asset, then yes. The NPPF requirement for a Heritage Statement or Heritage Impact Assessment applies regardless of whether your specific building is listed. Non-designated heritage assets, including locally listed buildings, also typically require one. We’ll confirm whether one is needed for your site within 24 hours.

Get in touch

Tell us about the building. We’ll tell you what’s involved.

Most enquiries get a written outline approach within 24 hours. Working in London? Meet our heritage consultants in London.

Speak To Our Team Or call our team on 0330 0880 984

What to send

To get a fast outline approach, share:

The address of the building
What’s listed, or what’s nearby that is
What you’re applying for
Where you are in the planning process