Some of the measures in the Historic Environment (HE) (Wales) Act 2016 (‘the 2016 Act’) came into force on 21 May 2016, two months after the legislation received Royal Assent, including measures relating to Temporary Stop Notices, Urgent Works and Immunity from Listing.
Prior to 21 May, Cadw writes:
‘Several amendments to the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the 1990 Act’) will also take effect on 21 May. A few technical amendments will come into force, but there are also more important changes to the existing systems for the protection and management of listed building, which are discussed below.
Temporary stop notice (section 29)
While the 1990 Act incorporated an enforcement notice for listed buildings, it provided no powers to require an immediate stop to unauthorised works. The 2016 Act remedies that omission by giving Welsh local planning authorities powers to issue temporary stop notices for listed buildings.
The notice will require specified works to be stopped for 28 days from the date it is first posted on the building. If an agreed resolution to the situation cannot be reached while the works are suspended, the notice can be followed by further enforcement action or prosecution.
Failure to comply with a temporary stop notice constitutes an offence in addition to any offence arising from the unauthorised works. Since a temporary stop notice is of limited duration, there is no provision for a right of appeal. However, a claim for compensation may be admitted if a notice is served incorrectly or withdrawn without a grant of listed building consent.
Amendments to urgent works (section 30(1)–(5))
The amendments that will come into force on 21 May will broaden the scope of the urgent works that local planning authorities and the Welsh Ministers can undertake for the preservation of a listed building. It will now be possible to undertake urgent works on any listed building provided that they do not unreasonably interfere with its residential use. The provisions of the 2016 Act that introduce a land charge to assist with the recovery of the costs of urgent works will not come into effect until necessary secondary legislation containing interest rate regulations has been passed by the National Assembly for Wales. The intention is to consult on those regulations in summer 2016.
Application conditions for certificates of immunity from listing (section 27)
An application for a certificate of immunity from listing — which provides assurance that a historic building will not be listed for 5 years — will be admitted at any time. Planning permission, either granted or applied for, will no longer be a prerequisite.
Read the full text of the Act and its accompanying Explanatory Notes
