Skip to main content
Designing planning and housing data

Beta This is a new service. Your feedback will help us to improve it.

Planning consideration

Certificate of immunity

A guarantee that a building or buildings will not be newly listed or given a building preservation notice for the next 5 years

Design stage
Research
Datasets
Frequency of updates
Fortnightly
Legislation
The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
Useful links
Discussion
Join the discussion on GitHub
Last updated
29 January 2025

Backlog

Who asked for 'Certificate of immunity' data?

This dataset is closely linked with the Listed building dataset (a constraint for PlanX), and so this was identified as a dataset likely to add quick value to the platform.

What is the driver for the request?

Existing planning requirement

Which 2024 focus area does the request support?

Modern planning software

Screen

What is the 'Certificate of immunity' consideration?

A guarantee that a building or buildings will not be newly listed or given a building preservation notice for the next 5 years.

Is there legislation that defines 'Certificate of immunity'?

Yes

What is the legislation that defines 'Certificate of immunity'?

Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, Section 6 - “Issue of certificate that building not intended to be listed”

“The Secretary of State may, on the application of any person, issue a certificate stating that the Secretary of State does not intend to list a building situated in England.] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The issue of [a certificate under subsection (A1).] in respect of a building shall— preclude the Secretary of State for a period of 5 years from the date of issue from exercising in relation to that building any of the powers conferred on him by section 1; and preclude the local planning authority for that period from serving a building preservation notice in relation to it.”

What is the specific part of the legislation that describes how a 'Certificate of immunity' gets designated?

Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, Section 6 - “The Secretary of State may, on the application of any person, issue a certificate stating that the Secretary of State does not intend to list a building situated in England.”

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, Explanatory Note 438 - “a COI can be applied for at any time for a building situated in England.”

What is the specific part of the legislation that requires the publication of 'Certificate of immunity'?

There is no legislation which requires the publication of this data.

Who, in law, is responsible for the planning consideration or makes decisions about 'Certificate of immunity'?

SoS DCMS

Which organisations do we think should publish the data?

Historic England

Is the Certificate of immunity a trigger?

Yes

What needs to be done because Certificate of immunity has acted as the trigger?

Further research is required to pinpoint what certificates of immunity might trigger. Initial research points towards it not triggering anything.

Is the Certificate of immunity something to consult during plan making?

Yes

Provide information about when Certificate of immunity is used during plan making

Further research is required to assess what certificates of immunity might help consult.

Is there any Certificate of immunity data already available?

Yes

What Certificate of immunity data is currently available?

  • Historic England (coverage: National; licence: OGL; fields: ListEntry;Name;Certificate of Immunity start date;Certificate of Immunity expiry date;Capture scale;NHLE link;National Grid Reference;Easting;Northing)

Do we think the data should come from a single source?

N / A

Will a data standard be required?

No

Research

Do we understand the lifecycle of a Certificate of immunity?

Yes

Document a stage of the high-level lifecycle of a Certificate of immunity

  • Application
  • Decision
  • COI expires

Do we understand how the data is created/produced?

We do not know how HE produces the data, but our expectation would be that they:

  • used the information contained in the application to place a point
  • used OS basemap data to help accurately produce the polygons

Where will or should the data be used?

COI data will be used by LPAs to inform the completion of local plans, as a COI inhibits the LPA from applying for a property to get listed; and homeowners (both prospective and current) to assess the viability of renovation / development.

What other planning considerations does it interact with?

  • Listed buildings
  • Building preservation notices

From what we have learnt so far are there any risks to making Certificate of immunity data available?

N / A