What is a Conservation Area?
Conservation Areas were introduced to the planning system in 1967 and are intended to protect the quality and special interest of a whole neighbourhood or area.

Conservation Areas may include listed buildings, but unlisted buildings, spaces, streets, street features, gardens and groups of trees may contribute to the character and be described in a supporting ‘statement’. In this way they have some level of protection within the planning system.

You can find more information about West Norfolk’s conservation areas here.

What is a Listed Building?
A listed building or structure is considered to have special architectural or historic interest. ‘Lists’ date back to the 1880s – but the modern legislation stems from the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act. English Heritage maintains the ‘list’. There are around 400,000 listed buildings in England and 1,878 in the Borough of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk.

Grade I listed buildings are considered of ‘exceptional interest’ (international importance).
Grade II* are considered of ‘more than special interest’.
Grade II are considered ‘special interest’. More than 92% of listed buildings are Grade II.

You can find more information about listed buildings here.

Civic Society volunteers first drew up a long list of structures lying outside of the town conservation areas but considered to be of heritage interest within criteria set out by Historic England. Criteria include age, rarity, aesthetic interest, group value, archaeological, archival or historical associations, landscape setting, landmark status or social and community value. The draft assessment was then assessed by a panel of local experts – who whittled it down to the current list.

The panel included:

John Selby, initial advisor to the project

Nicholas Balaam, Heritage Management Consultant

Roger Edwards, architect (retired)

Dr Paul Richards, historian

Adrian Parker, ex-Borough Planning Officer

Richard Waite, architect

Elizabeth James (King’s Lynn Civic Society committee member), co-ordinator

Thanks are also extended to the following Civic Society volunteers: Jean Tuck, Herbie Knights, Colin James, Colin Johnston, Peter Putterill, Vivian Putterill, Rick Morrish, Helen Russell-Johnson and Anna Gunn.

The Local List structures may not be regarded as remarkable in a national context, but they are considered important in reflecting the development of King’s Lynn, significant periods in the town’s history and cultural and social development. Such structures provide locally distinctive character and often unique combinations of materials, architectural styles and urban development patterns.

It is therefore important that these heritage characteristics are recognised and properly considered by planners, developers and builders when regenerating or renovating parts of the town or individual buildings and features. We hope this online resource will enable a better understanding of the town’s heritage resource and a more sympathetic approach to development applications.

The Local List should be considered a ‘live document’. Other structures or features may come to light that have been missed in our original surveys. The significance of some structures may become better recognised in future. And some buildings of local significance will inevitably be lost. We would welcome any submissions from local residents or historians that can throw more light on the historical development of King’s Lynn or individual structures of particular interest.

Therefore, although the Local List structures may not be regarded as sufficiently unique to qualify for ‘listing’ in the national context, they are considered important in telling the story of the growth, significant periods, cultural and social development of King’s Lynn. Such structures provide locally distinctive character and often unique combinations of materials, architectural styles and urban development patterns.