The records by council
The figures count listed-building entries in the government's national planning dataset for each council area. One entry can cover a single building, a terrace or a structure such as a milestone or a bridge, so the count is a guide to how much of a district is protected rather than a count of listed houses.
| Council | Listed records | Per 1,000 households |
|---|---|---|
| Lancaster | 1,343 | 22.4 |
| Ribble Valley | 836 | 31.3 |
| West Lancashire | 513 | 10.6 |
| Preston | 482 | 8.1 |
| Chorley | 436 | 8.7 |
| Pendle | 335 | 8.8 |
| Burnley | 312 | 7.8 |
| Wyre | 307 | 6.0 |
| Rossendale | 275 | 9.0 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 227 | 3.9 |
| Fylde | 203 | 5.4 |
| South Ribble | 146 | 3.0 |
| Hyndburn | 116 | 3.3 |
| Blackpool | 56 | 0.9 |
Lancaster leads in number, with 1,343 records across the city and its rural district. Relative to households, the Ribble Valley is far ahead at about 31.3 per 1,000, with Lancaster second at 22.4 and no other council above 11. At the other end, Blackpool has 56 and Hyndburn 116.
Why Class G does not apply
Permitted development for air source heat pumps, Class G of Part 14, excludes any listed building and any building or land within its grounds. So a unit beside a listed farmhouse, in its yard or on an outbuilding within its curtilage, is caught as well as one on the house itself. The only route is a planning application to the council, and where the work affects the building's special architectural or historic interest, listed building consent as well.
That applies to the house as listed, not to a neighbouring unlisted house. If your home is next to a listed building but not within its grounds, Class G still applies to you, though the setting of the listed building may matter if you apply for anything else.
What the council will look at
- Where the unit sits: out of sight of the main elevations, and away from historic walls and features.
- How the pipes get in: routes through modern openings or less sensitive fabric, not new holes through carved stone or panelling.
- Inside the house: radiators, a cylinder and pipe runs that fit the historic interior, and no harm to floors or plasterwork.
- Insulation: solid walls and lime plaster need breathable materials; the wrong insulation can trap moisture.
- Ground source: trenches or a borehole kept away from buried archaeology and the setting of the house.
Approaching it in practice
Start with the council's conservation or heritage officer before you commit to a design. Many councils offer pre-application advice, which can save a refused application. Choose an installer who has worked on listed buildings and can show it, and ask for the heat-loss calculation to be done for the building as it is: thick stone walls, single glazing and high ceilings change the numbers. Expect the design to take longer and the application to need drawings and a heritage statement.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme does not exclude listed buildings, so the standard or higher grant band can still apply once permission is in place. Because the installer claims the grant, the timing of the application matters if the higher band for oil and LPG homes is involved.
Conservation areas are different
A conservation area protects the character of a whole area rather than one building. Class G still applies inside one, with the extra rule that nothing may face a road. Many listed buildings sit inside conservation areas, in which case both sets of rules apply and the listed status decides that an application is needed.
Where this matters most
In the Ribble Valley and Lancaster, listed buildings are common enough that anyone buying or owning an older house should check the list first. Elsewhere, it is worth checking the list before planning work on any older house. The district finder shows each council's count alongside its other figures.