01Planning
Islington, Islington Council
Heritage statements for Islington's listed and period houses
Islington's validation checklist is unusually specific about what a heritage statement for a listed house contains: a schedule of every work with its materials and methods, photographs annotated to the plans, and window and door details drawn at 1:20 or larger. We prepare the statement and those drawings together. From £655, fixed before we start.
From £655
- MCIAT chartered architectural technologists
- £2m professional indemnity insurance
- LABC Partnered
- ICO registered
Our fee for heritage statement: from £655, no VAT to add. Covered in full, with its own guide and fee, at fixedfeeplans.co.uk.
02The fee
One fixed fee, published
What you get
- Analysis of the significance of the building and of any conservation area it sits in
- A schedule of all proposed works with materials and methods
- Photographs of each affected area, annotated and tied to the plans
- Drawings of joinery and features at the scales the checklist names
- Historic evidence for any lost feature you want to reinstate
- Free amendments should the council ask for a revised statement before it decides
Council fees are separate and paid to Islington. If the house is listed we normally prepare the listed building consent application and the statement together.
03How it runs
What Islington's checklist lists for a listed house
41
Conservation areas the national planning data lists for Islington Council. Source: planning.data.gov.uk
04Planning
The checklist, line by line
Islington's local validation requirements, dated 12 April 2024, give the heritage statement its own section. For listed building consent it asks for an analysis of the significance of the building and of any other asset affected, such as the conservation area, including the setting and the current condition of every element to be touched.
It then asks for a schedule of all proposed works with the materials and methods to be used, an analysis of how they affect significance, and, where harm is proposed, why mitigation or alternatives could not be accommodated. Photographs of each affected area must be annotated and tied to locations on the plans.
05Planning
The detail scales that catch people out
A note in the same section says that for any alteration, replacement or installation of features such as windows, doors and shopfronts, existing and proposed elevations and sections are needed at 1:20 or larger. Mouldings, sills, lintels, mullions and panelling may need 1:5, and glazing bars 1:2.
Many applicants send general-arrangement plans and are then asked for the detail, which restarts the clock. We draw the joinery at the scales the checklist names while we are on site, so the statement and the drawings arrive complete.
06Planning
Putting back what was lost
Where you want to reinstate a lost or damaged feature, the checklist asks for historic evidence of the detail: old plans, early photographs, or similar houses nearby when the desktop search turns up nothing. For a Georgian fanlight or a lost cornice that is the part that wins the officer's confidence.
We search the borough's records and Historic England's material for your street before we visit, and record in the statement what was found and what was inferred, so nothing is passed off as original.
07Planning
Setting, conservation areas and the wider test
For applications that affect significance more widely, the council asks for a written statement with plans showing historic features on or next to the site, and may ask for an assessment of the effect on the character and appearance of the area. It points applicants to its Conservation Area Design Guidelines and the Urban Design Guide.
The national planning data lists 41 conservation areas and 1,050 list entries in Islington, so most of the borough's older housing is either listed, near a listed building or inside an area with its own guidelines.
08The record
Figures that shape the job
41
Conservation areas the national planning data lists for Islington Council.
Source: planning.data.gov.uk, conservation-area dataset, checked 25 Oct 2026
1,050
Historic England list entries inside the Islington planning boundary.
Source: planning.data.gov.uk, listed-building dataset, checked 25 Oct 2026
3.5
The section of the council's local validation requirements that sets out what a heritage statement must include.
Source: London Borough of Islington, Local Validation Requirements, 12 April 2024, checked 25 Oct 2026
1:20
The scale of elevations and sections required for changes to windows, doors and shopfronts on a listed building; 1:5 for mouldings and 1:2 for glazing bars.
Source: London Borough of Islington, Local Validation Requirements, 12 April 2024, checked 25 Oct 2026
HE5
National policy asks applicants to assess the significance of heritage assets before the council decides.
Source: National Planning Policy Framework, chapter 20, checked 25 Oct 2026
s.66
Islington officers must have special regard to a listed building's preservation, setting and special features when they weigh a scheme.
Source: Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 66, checked 25 Oct 2026
09Questions
What clients ask before they instruct us
Is a heritage statement needed for every house in an Islington conservation area?
The checklist asks for one where an application affects the significance of a heritage asset or its setting, and always for listed building consent. We read the checklist against your proposal and say which applies before you commit.
Why does the statement need drawings at 1:20 and 1:5?
Islington asks for them for any change to windows, doors, shopfronts and similar features on a listed building, so the officer can see the real profile of the new part against the old. We draw them to the scales the checklist names.
Can I reinstate a missing feature without proof of what it looked like?
The checklist asks for historic evidence where possible, and if desktop searching fails, for efforts to identify original features on similar houses. We record exactly what evidence exists so the officer can judge it.
Does the {{price}} fee cover the listed building consent drawings?
No, the £655 is the statement. Drawings for the consent are quoted separately, and most Islington clients take both so the survey and photographs are done once.
10Boroughs
The same service in other boroughs
11Related
Related services and guides
Send us the address of your house.
We look up the conservation area, listing and Article 4 position, then reply with a fixed fee. A message before 3pm is answered the same working day.