Listed buildings and conservation areas

The historic environment makes a substantial contribution to Brent's character and distinctiveness.  Heritage assets are a unique and irreplaceable resource which justifies protection, conservation and enhancement.

Brent’s designated heritage assets include:

• listed buildings
• conservation areas
• registered parks and gardens

Also included are a wide range of architectural styles, from Victorian Italianate, Gothic Revival, and suburban 'Arts and Crafts', to ‘Tudorbethan’, ‘Old World’, Modern and Brutalist.

Non-designated heritage assets include:  

• locally listed buildings
• sites of archaeological importance 
• archaeological priority areas

Brent’s heritage is valued as evidence of the past culture.

The British Rail lines and the Metropolitan Railway enabled suburban 'Metroland' development. This was boosted by the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley Park. Many historic buildings within Brent reflect the styles of these times, but it also has examples of mandir architecture as well as ‘moorish’ and ‘Indo-Islamic’.

Brent also has historic formal public parks, gardens and cemeteries as well as planned ‘garden village’ estates, but its archaeological discoveries from early prehistory are scarce.

Brent Historic Environment Place-making Strategy

Assessing and managing Brent's built heritage to support good growth and help inform regeneration and place-making.

• Brent Historic Environment Place-making Strategy
• Brent Historic Environment Place-making Strategy Appendices

If you have any questions, or would like further information on heritage and conservation matters please email: planningstrategy@brent.gov.uk

Statutory listed buildings are buildings or structures which are protected because they are of special architectural or historic interest. They are listed on the National Heritage List for England (NHLE).

This list is a register of all nationally protected buildings and sites in England. Entries are decided by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Listing categories:

• Grade I buildings are of exceptional interest - Brent has one of these.
• Grade II* buildings are particularly important buildings of more than special interest - Brent has nine of these.
• Grade II buildings are of special interest - Brent has around 200 of these.

You can check if you live in a listed building using our planning searches database. This can be done by selecting the ‘property’ tab, entering your property details, then clicking on the ‘property attributes’ tab.

Historic England maintains  the National Heritage List which is a searchable database of all nationally designated heritage assets, including Brent’s listed buildings and registered parks and gardens.

Your responsibilities

When a building is listed, all of the building itself (internally and externally), anything fixed to it, and most buildings and structures in its grounds, are considered part of it.

You will probably need listed building consent, in addition to any other permissions or approvals, if you considering carrying out any work.

Listed building consent is needed so we can make decisions that balance the site's architectural or historic significance against other issues.

You are likely to need consent for:

• demolition of all or part of a listed building (including buildings and structures in the curtilage)
• alterations (including internal works) that affect the character of the building
• extensions
• repairs that involve replacing important parts of the building's fabric or using different materials (such as replacing the roof)

It is an offence to carry out works to a listed building that affect its architectural or historic interest without the approval of planning services.  

You could be liable to prosecution, and be made to rectify any changes you have made.  The maximum penalty could include imprisonment and unlimited fines.

In Princess Road, NW6 5QT, a Local Listed Building Consent Order has been granted which permits repairs to a number of listed properties.  See which properties and the details of the Order below.

View the Princess Road Building Consent Order (.pdf, 9.28MB)

We have identified a number of non-designated heritage assets and included them on a ‘Local List’ of buildings or structures of architectural or historic Interest.

View the descriptions of all the locally listed assets in Brent (.pdf, 9.48MB).

These assets include monuments, sites, places, areas or landscapes identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions.

While not statutory listed, these buildings and structures are of good quality design or are historically significant. They are important local landmarks in their own right and make a significant contribution to the character and appearance of their area.

The inclusion on the local list simply means that we will take into account the heritage asset’s special local architectural or historic significance when considering a planning application.

Check if you live in a locally listed building

Enter your property details into our planning policies map to find out if your property is locally listed and download the local list description.

Conservation areas are areas of special architectural or historic interest with a character or appearance that should be preserved or enhanced. There are 22 conservation areas in Brent. 

To find out if you're in a conservation area, use the Interactive Brent Polices Map. Enter your address, click the pin, and it will show relevant policies, including the conservation area.

Conservation area design guides

Conservation area design guides contain practical advice and information to help you make repairs and improvements to your home that will help to preserve or enhance the character of the area.

Conservation areas

For each of the conservation areas listed below you can find:

• date of designation
• area map
• article 4 direction (if applicable)
• design guide (if applicable)

If you have any questions, would like any further information, or need a version of a PDF or other document, in a more accessible format, please email: planningstrategy@brent.gov.uk

All of Brent’s residential conservation areas are covered by article 4 directions. This is a special control giving extra protection to a conservation area by removing some of the owner's planning development rights. 

This allows us to manage small-scale changes that might otherwise gradually erode the building’s special features and the character of the conservation area.  Where an article 4 direction applies, planning permission is required for the specified works.

This could include:

• changing windows and doors to the front elevation
• painting the front of the house
• paving over the front garden
• removing or building front garden walls
• replacement of roof tiles
• removal of chimneys
• erecting sheds and outbuildings in rear gardens

Permitted development rights only apply to houses. Flats or houses that have been sub-divided, or that are in multiple occupation, do not enjoy permitted development rights. The schedule of permitted development rights for houses can be found in Schedule 2, Part 1 of The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995.

Manor Close was de-designated as a Conservation Area on 4 March 2004 but the article 4 direction, which controls the formation of driveways and off-street parking spaces, remains active.

View details of other article 4 directions in Brent along with supplementary planning documents and guidance.

New article 4 directions

New article 4 directions came into force on 18 December 2021 for 16 conservation areas. These replaced existing article 4 directions.

Consultation on this ran from 9 November to 5pm on 18 December 2020. The council resolved to confirm these new article 4 directions (except in the Sudbury Court Conservation Area) on 25 June 2021.  

View the consultation statement (.pdf, 384.3kB)

Brent has seen comparatively little archaeological excavation since the war and there is the potential for more discoveries through the planning process. 

Archaeological sites and the information they contain cannot be restored once they have been lost. The government has recognised this through publication of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which includes guidance on the treatment of archaeological remains in the planning process.

Excavations in Brent have mainly been carried out by the Wembley History Society, and in recent years by the Museum of London, but finds have been limited. The most significant being a Bronze Age urn from Brent reservoir displayed at Brent Museum and Archives.

View a summary of archaeological excavations in Brent (.pdf, 243.0kB)

Archaeological Priority Areas (APAs) and Sites of Archaeological Importance (SAI).

Archaeological Priority Areas (APAs) and Sites of Archaeological Importance (SAI) are places where there is potential for new discoveries. We have identified four APAs in Brent and 40 SAIs. These are used to help highlight where development might affect heritage assets.

Check whether your property is located within an APA or SAI

What it means if your property is in an APA or SAI

A desk-based assessment will usually need to be submitted to the council in consultation with the Greater London Archaeological Advisory Service (GLAAS). For small residential householder applications it is advised that you contact the planning team to confirm if an assessment is necessary.

Desk-based assessments do not require any fieldwork. 

They consider the likely survival of buried archaeological deposits on the site and their significance. This should be done by a specialist archaeological consultant.

It should be noted that archaeological remains are not only confined to the archaeological priority areas and sites of interest can be identified outside these zones.

The results of archaeological investigations can be requested from the council's planning department. Alternatively you can request the reports from the Greater London Historic Environment Record at Historic England.