image for illustration: Above the Saloon, Clandon Park House after the fire by Ian Capper, CC-BY-SA-2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Georgian Group is seeking a judicial review of council approval for harmful development of internationally important Grade I listed house damaged by fire.
The Georgian Group writes:
The Georgian Group, the national charity for the protection of Georgian architecture and heritage, has today (21 January) announced that it has launched judicial review proceedings challenging Guildford Borough Council’s decision to approve redevelopment proposals at Clandon Park in Surrey.
The legal challenge relates to planning and listed building consents granted on 11 November 2025 for proposals put forward by the National Trust following the devastating fire at the Grade I listed eighteenth-century house in 2015.
The Georgian Group argues that the council’s decision-making was unlawful and sets a dangerous precedent in terms of how the significance of historic buildings is assessed after damage or loss. The heritage body has applied to the High Court for permission to proceed with the judicial review and, as a charity, has also sought a cost cap to limit its financial exposure.
Clandon Park is one of the most important early Georgian houses in England and one of the few surviving buildings by the architect Giacomo Leoni. Before the fire, its interiors were regarded as among the finest of their date.
The charity says that the consents were granted without adequate consideration of heritage law and policy, despite objections to the proposals earlier this year and requests that the Secretary of State call in the decision for a public inquiry.
Dr Anya Lucas FSA, Director of the Georgian Group, said: ‘This unusual case is about more than Clandon Park. We are very concerned about the precedent these consents set for heritage assets more generally. If a public body can adopt such a radical approach to a Grade I listed building – which burnt only relatively recently and whose interiors are both internationally-significant and well-documented – what message does this send to the owners of more modest listed buildings of all types up and down the country?’
‘Having taken legal advice, it is now our firm view that if the Clandon consents – predicated on the notion of ‘post-fire significance’ – are not quashed they will have far-reaching negative consequences for heritage assets more generally. The action we are taking therefore concerns a matter of principle which the Georgian Group – founded to promote and protect Georgian heritage – cannot concede’.
The Georgian Group emphasised that the judicial review is directed at the lawfulness of Guildford Borough Council’s decision-making process. The National Trust is an interested party in the proceedings, not the defendant. The charity said it continues to regard the National Trust as a valued partner in heritage protection, despite fundamental disagreements over the approach taken at Clandon Park. A High Court decision will now be awaited on whether permission is granted for the judicial review to proceed.
For more information, please contact The Georgian Group: office@georgiangroup.org.uk / 07815 634396
Notes for Editors
1. About the Georgian Group
Founded in 1937, the Georgian Group is a national amenity society and registered charity dedicated to protecting and promoting Georgian architecture and historic buildings dating from 1700–1840. It is a statutory consultee on planning applications affecting listed buildings of this period in England and Wales.
2. What is being challenged?
The judicial review challenges Guildford Borough Council’s decision of 11 November 2025 to grant planning permission and listed building consent for redevelopment proposals at Clandon Park, a Grade I listed building in Surrey.
3. What is a judicial review?
A planning judicial review is not a re-hearing of the merits of a planning application. It is a type of court proceeding in which a High Court judge reviews whether a public authority has acted lawfully by following correct procedures, properly applying the facts, policy and law in reaching its decision.
4. Why does the Georgian Group say this matters nationally?
The charity is concerned that the decision relies on a concept of ‘post-fire significance’ which, if upheld, could allow the historic value of damaged listed buildings to be reassessed in a way that weakens their legal protection.
5. Is the Georgian Group suing the National Trust?
No. The legal action is against Guildford Borough Council. The National Trust is an interested party because it is the applicant for the consents.
6. What happens next?
The High Court will decide whether to grant permission for the judicial review to proceed. If permission is granted, the case will move to a full hearing.
7. What is Clandon Park?
Clandon Park is a Grade I listed country house designed by Giacomo Leoni standing in a Grade II designed landscape by Capability Brown. Clandon’s significance is as an outstanding example of one of Leoni’s country houses. Its interiors are enriched with magnificent chimneypieces (those in the Marble Hall containing important reliefs by the sculptor Michael Rysbrack) and ornate plasterwork by the Swiss-Italian stuccatori Giuseppe Artari and Giovanni Baggutti.
8. When did the Georgian Group object to the applications?
We submitted our objection letter to the applications for listed building consent and planning permission on the 30 January 2025.
Guildford approved the scheme unanimously at their planning committee on 6 March 2025 at which the Georgian Group made the following speech – VIEW HERE.
On 30 October 2025 the Secretary of State announced the applications would not be called in for a Public Inquiry and on 11 November 2025 Guildford Borough Council issued consents.
