Policy information sourced from St Albans District Local Plan
86 Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest
In considering any application for listed building consent for the demolition, alteration or extension of a listed building (and also any application for planning permission for development which affects a listed building or its setting), the Council will have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of architectural or historic interest which it possesses;
listed buildings should be preserved unless exceptional circumstances exist and consent to demolish will be given only where every effort has been made to continue the present use or find alternative uses and where there are also acceptable and detailed plans for redevelopment (see also Policy 88);
applications will also be assessed against the following and the guidance in Appendix iv of the Department of the Environment Circular 8/87 (or successive Government advice):
- alterations involving the removal. obliteration or encasing of internal or external features which are of architectural or historic interest, or involving detriment to their context or integrity, will not be permitted in the absence of exceptional circumstances;
- alterations involving the addition of new features (including openings) which would be detrimental to the internal or external character or appearance of the building, or to the context of features or interest, will be permitted only in exceptional circumstances;
- removal of features with intrinsic interest and their replacement with replicas will not be permitted unless the original is incapable of repair;
- replacement of historic windows with those of a different style, material, method of opening or detailing will not be permitted unless the windows sought to be inserted are of a more historically correct and appropriate pattern than the existing windows and would enhance the building;
- painting or covering of the exterior or interior will not be permitted where it would obliterate features of interest, alter the proportions or balance of a building or unity of a group, make unsuitable emphasis of features, or be inappropriate or detrimental in terms of chemical composition, colour or texture;
- cleaning methods such as sand blasting or chemical cleaning which would damage the fabric or would be detrimental to its appearance or interest will not be permitted;
- extensions or new curtilage buildings which dominate or mask the form or appearance of the original, unbalance or otherwise detract from the listed building by reason of their scale, materials, siting or design, or conceal, obliterate or require removal of important features of the listed building will not be permitted in the absence of exceptional circumstances;
- rooflights and dormers will not normally be permitted on front or main elevations; they may be permitted to the rear or on side elevations provided that they do not harm the character or appearance of the building.
For more information please see the Local Plan