Three separate historic buildings councils were created by the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953, one for each of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Each Historic Buildings Council advised the relevant government minister on the exercise of powers under the 1953 Act relating to the preservation of

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s and other buildings of special architectural or historic interest, including applications for grants. Responsibilities for advice in relation to the

Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (c. 9) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the laws on granting of planning permission for building works, notably including those of the listed building ...

were added later. All three have now been abolished and replaced by other bodies. *The Historic Buildings Council for England was abolished by section 39 of the

National Heritage Act 1983 National Heritage Act is a stock short title used in Malaysia and the United Kingdom for legislation relating to national heritage. List Malaysia *The National Heritage Act 2005 United Kingdom The National Heritage Acts comprise four acts of t ...

; its functions, and those of the

Ancient Monuments Board English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, li ...

for England, were taken up by

Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with protect ...

(better known as

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

). *The Historic Buildings Council for Scotland was abolished, along with various other public bodies, including the

for Scotland, by section 4 of the Public Appointments and Public Bodies etc (Scotland) Act 2003 (2003 asp 4) and its functions were taken up by a new advisory body, the Historic Environment Advisory Council for Scotland, which itself was dissolved in 2012. *The Historic Buildings Council for Wales underwent a quinquennial review in 2002, which concluded that it was effective and provided value for money, and, subject to some changes to enable its future development and structure to be determined in a more flexible way, should continue in existence. However, it was abolished by statutory instrument in 2006, and all of its property was transferred to the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

. It and the Ancient Monuments Board for Wales were re-established as an advisory council, the Historic Buildings Advisory Council for Wales. A fourth Historic Buildings Council, for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, was created by the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1972. It continues to exist, now regulated by the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991. It retains responsibility for the listing buildings of special architectural or historic interest in Northern Ireland, designating Conservation Areas, and the preservation of listed buildings.

References

{{morecat, date=July 2024 Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom