ABSTRACT
Although the concept of conserving the environment is now widely accepted both by the government and the general public, the legislation designed to achieve this object has over the years been the subject of many legal challenges, partly because the listing of buildings and the declaration of conservation areas may well involve a degree of subjective judgment. To qualify for listing, the 'object' must qualify as 'a building which is of special architectural or historic interest'. Any object or structure is subject to listed control, under s 1(5)(b) of the Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas Act (LBCAA) 1990, if it: is within the curtilage of a listed building; and it has been there since before June 1948. Applications for the demolition of listed buildings frequently arise because of the costs involved in restoration, the difficulty of finding a suitable use for the building, or the desire to carry out redevelopment to capitalise on the development value of the site.
