Northampton Local Heritage List

At present, there are over 500 buildings in Northampton that are statutorily “listed” as being of national architectural or historic interest but there are many other buildings, structures or areas of open space that are locally important which do not meet the strict criteria for national designation, yet nevertheless make a significant contribution to the town’s distinctive character and appearance. These could now be recognised by being included on a Local Heritage List for Northampton. Listed buildings and scheduled monuments would not be included as they are already protected by national designation. See the schedule of all listed buildings in the borough.

Historic England describes local heritage listing as being a means for a community and local authority to jointly identify heritage assets that are valued as distinctive elements of the local historic environment. We have previously identified a number of buildings and monuments within the town centre and within the town’s 21 conservation areas that we feel ought to receive additional recognition but we are now proposing a comprehensive local list for the whole of Northampton. Inclusion on the Local Heritage List would be a material consideration when we consider planning applications. 

A list of criteria to assess possible entries has been drawn up and we have enlisted the help of an independent selection panel to assess nominations received to produce a draft list. When complete, the draft list will be put out to public consultation and will be considered by Cabinet when they decide whether to adopt the draft list as Northampton’s Local Heritage List.