Committee publication · Correspondence · 25 November 2025
Email from Jennifer Cooke, Director, Smith Jenkins Planning & Heritage, regarding Protecting built heritage oral evidence follow-up, 10 November 2025
From: Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Inquiry: Protecting built heritage
Summary
Jennifer Cooke, Director of Smith Jenkins Planning & Heritage, summarises her oral evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on 4 November 2025 regarding challenges facing private heritage asset owners. She outlines systemic barriers in the planning and listed building consent process, funding constraints, skills shortages, and proposes a toolkit of solutions including regional heritage advisory boards, VAT relief, streamlined consent procedures, and investment in heritage craft training.
Key findings
- Heritage consents take months or years due to inefficient processes; local authorities face severe conservation officer shortages (e.g. Birmingham has 1 officer for 2,000 listed buildings and 30 conservation areas)
- Private sector heritage preservation relies on insufficient private finance with minimal public funding; current models are unsustainable
- Subjectivity in heritage assessments across different conservation officers creates uncertainty and inconsistent decisions on applications
- High costs, VAT on repairs, slow Listed Building Consent processes, and shortage of skilled tradespeople deter private investment and encourage unauthorised works
- Built heritage drives economic growth, community identity, and supports net zero targets through retrofit and reuse, yet faces barriers including financial, regulatory, and practical constraints
Recommendations
- Establish regional heritage advisory boards to outsource conservation officer capacity and share resources across authorities lacking in-house expertise
- Fund conservation advice for strategic projects through planning performance agreements
- Introduce standardised pre-application timeframes and unified authority views to prevent conflicting comments as applications progress
- Remove VAT on heritage works and expand grant funding for private owners
- Streamline Listed Building Consent procedures and adopt policy presumption against demolition (reuse as default unless proven unviable)
- Invest in training and regional hubs to rebuild heritage craft skills through funded apprenticeships in traditional trades
- Integrate education combining practical skills with heritage policy to incentivise conservation and planning officer recruitment
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Jennifer Cooke, Smith Jenkins Planning & Heritage, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Architectural Heritage Fund, English Heritage, The Heritage Alliance, City of London
Notable line
“The biggest risk to a heritage asset is neglect. To safeguard it, the UK needs better-funded advisory systems, faster and fairer regulation, fiscal reform (especially VAT relief) …”
Key Quotes
“Heritage consents often take months or years, even for small projects, due to inefficient and lengthy processes.”
“Birmingham has c2000 listed buildings, 30 conservation areas and only 1 conservation officer - leading to inconsistent decisions and risk of poor outcomes.”
“The biggest risk to a heritage asset is neglect. To safeguard it, the UK needs better-funded advisory systems, faster and fairer regulation, fiscal reform (especially VAT relief), and a major national investment in conservation skills.”
“Built heritage drives economic growth, community identity, and wellbeing, with historic areas fostering local pride and tourism”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗