Designated Assets, Protected Areas and the Built Environment

The National Heritage List for England

The National Heritage List for England is the official record of nationally designated heritage assets in England.

The number of entries on ‘the List’ increased slightly from 400,866 in 2021 to 401,032 (+166) in 2022.  

• There were 379,280 listed buildings recorded on ‘the List’ in 2022. Listed buildings are the largest category of nationally designated heritage assets. 24% of listed buildings are located in the South West region, 20% in the South East region and 15% in the east of England 
• In 2022, 19,933 scheduled monuments were officially recorded on ‘the List’, with 467 additions since 2003. 35% of these are located in the South West region; 13% in Yorkshire and the Humber and the South East region respectively
• 1,699 scheduled parks are recorded on ‘the List’ with 22% located in the South East region, 18% in the South West region and 13% in the east of England
• Other assets officially recorded in 2022 include 47 registered battlefields, 54 protected historic wreck sites; 19 World Heritage Sites

Distribution of designated heritage assets in England

Overall, the South West region has the highest number of designated assets in England

Figure DES 1.1 – Map showing National Heritage List entries across 9 government regions in England. Click the dropdown menu or left and right arrows to see the data for different asset categories by region. Click the sections on the legend to add or remove this data. Source: Historic England. (Accessed: December 2022)

Change in numbers of listed building entries by region, 2010 to 2022 and 2021 to 2022

The number of listed building entries has grown over time

Figure DES 1.2 – Bar graphs showing entries of listed buildings onto the National Heritage List for England from 2010 to 2022 and another bar graph for 2021 to 2022. Source: Historic England. (Accessed: December 2022)

Conservation areas

Conservation areas are areas of special architectural or historical interest, whose character and appearance are considered to be worth protecting or enhancing. Conservation areas are designated against local and regional criteria and are not nationally designated as is the case with listing.

• In 2022, there were 9,904 conservation areas in England

• Since 2019, Historic England has grouped conservation areas by its 6 administrative regions rather than Government Office Regions (GORs). This shows that 32% of conservation areas are located in London and the South East; 19% in the Midlands; 16% in the South West; 12% in both the North East and Yorkshire and the east of England and 9% in the North West region. 1 conservation area overlaps the North West and Midlands regions

Conservation areas across England, 2022

London and the South East region have the largest number of conservation areas, at 32% of all conservation areas

Figure DES 1.3 – A bar graph showing the number of conservation areas in 2022 across 6 Historic England regions. A second bar graph (accessed via the top tabs) shows this in %. Source: Historic England.

Historic areas and open spaces

National parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) are statutory designations which protect our countryside.   

• In 2022, there were 1,265 thousand hectares of designated national parks (9.5% of England’s land coverage) and 1,931 thousand hectares of designated AONB (14.5% of England’s land coverage)
• In 2022, there were 364 thousand hectares of ancient woodland in England. (Ancient woodland is defined as land continuously wooded since 1600)
• Heritage coasts represent stretches of our most beautiful, undeveloped coastline, which are managed to conserve their natural beauty and, where appropriate, to improve accessibility for visitors. These are non-statutory landscapes and included 164 thousand hectares in 2022

Historic areas and open spaces in England, 2022

Figure DES 1.4 – A bar graph showing the area of designated countryside assets, including ancient woodland and heritage coasts. In 2022, there were 1,265 thousand hectares of designated national parks; 1,931 thousand hectares of designated AONB and 364 thousand hectares of ancient woodland in England. Source: Natural England.

Pre-1919 dwellings

The UK has the oldest housing stock in Europe, with 38% of homes dating from before 1946 (BRE, 2016). In England, 8.96 million homes or 36% of homes were constructed prior to 1945, while 5.14 million or 21% of homes predate the year 1919 (1).

There are more pre-1919 homes today than there were 10 years ago: 

• There were 89,060 more pre-1919 dwellings in 2022 compared to 2012, according to the latest statistics from the Valuation Office Agency. This represents an increase of 1.8% of the total building stock (2022) 
• At first glance, this evidence appears counterintuitive. However, it is through the conversion of existing historic homes into multiple dwellings, and through the conversion of non-domestic historic assets into homes, that our historic buildings continue to give. Heritage assets are adaptable and can respond to evolving societal needs if invested in

Pre-1919 constructed dwellings, 2014 to 2022

There are more pre-1919 homes today than there were 10 years ago

Figure DES 1.5a – A line graph showing pre-1919 residential buildings, across 9 regions in England (and as a total). Click the regions in the legend to add or remove this data. Source: Valuation Office Agency.

Percentages of pre-1919 buildings by region

London has the largest % of pre-1919 buildings, whilst the East of England has the lowest %

Figure DES 1.5b – A bar graph showing the percentages of pre-1919 buildings (of total residential stock) across these 9 regions. Click the regions in the legend to add or remove this data. Source: Valuation Office Agency.

Footnotes

1. The year 1919 is recognised as a watershed between traditional and modern construction methods, providing a useful definition that can be used to understand an area’s non-designated heritage. The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) has identified a decline in the traditional skills required to maintain pre-1919 buildings, and Historic England is working with partners to address this need.  

References

1. BRE, 2016. 'The cost of poor housing in the European Union'. Available at: https://files.bregroup.com/bre-co-uk-file-library-copy/filelibrary/Briefing%20papers/92993_BRE_Poor-Housing_in_-Europe.pdf (Accessed on 10.07.23)