Procedure for Listing and De-Listing Buildings of Special Architectural or Historical Interest
October 2025
Under Section 30 of the Development and Planning Act 1974 (the ‘Act’), the Minister responsible for Planning may compile a list of buildings of special architectural or historical interest. A building may be listed if it is considered to be worthy of recognition in accordance with provisions 30(1) and 30(2) of the Act which note that the Minister may take into account not only the building itself but also:
any respect in which its exterior contributes to the architectural or historic interest of any group of buildings of which it forms part; and
the desirability of preserving, on the ground of its architectural or historic interest, any feature of the building consisting of a man-made object or structure fixed to the building or forming part of the land comprised within the curtilage of the building.
Any person may request that the Minister responsible for Planning consider listing or de-listing a building. The Department of Planning may occasionally put forward such requests or carry out a review of the list and put forward recommendations to the Minister.
How buildings are listed
In April 1991, the Historic Buildings Advisory Committee was appointed by the Minister responsible for Planning to view, photograph and score all buildings worthy of consideration for inclusion on the list across the Island. After 12 years of research, the list of 788 buildings of special interest was published in November 2002.
The scores which determined whether a building ought to be listed are related to a multitude of significance indicators which include, but are not limited to, the property’s age, historic associations, uniqueness and current condition. A building may be Grade 1, Grade 2 or Grade 3 listed depending on the aforementioned factors, with Grade 1 being attributed to those buildings with the highest scores. A description is attached to each listing which records the reasons for a property being listed and the chosen grade.
Before including a building on such a list (i.e. ‘listing a building’), the Minister must:
- give at least 30 days’ notice to owners and occupiers of the building of his/her intention to list the building, during which time owners and occupiers have an opportunity to make objections or representations; and
- notify the owners and occupiers if he/she decides to list the building once this 30-day period has expired.
The above steps may be waived at the request of the owners / occupiers if the owners / occupiers of the building have made the request for listing.
The Minister may also list a building immediately without complying with the above requirements for a temporary period of 90 days.
How buildings are de-listed
A building which is currently listed will be considered for de-listing if the property, in its current state, no longer meets the criteria for its protected status.
There is a narrow range of issues to be taken into account in considering whether to delist a property, including its structural condition, degree of dereliction and if new evidence is presented which affects the rationale behind the original listing.
The legislated process for listing buildings described above does not apply to de-listing, however the process set out below ensures that members of the public are made aware of, and afforded the opportuning to comment on, requests to list and de-list buildings.
Alterations to the List: Process for listing or delisting buildings
1. Applicant/Landowner Request Letter
Requests to alter the special buildings list must be made in the form of a letter addressed to the Minister responsible for Planning, explaining why the building ought to be listed or delisted, having regard to the criteria for listing and de-listing. In the case of a delisting request, any buildings within the scheduled area of the Town of St. George may also need to seek permissions from the St. Georges Preservation Authority.
Justification for an alteration to the list must be comprehensive and robust and all relevant materials such as historic evidence, relevant reports, photographs etc. should be included with the letter. This letter, along with all these relevant materials must be submitted through the Department of Planning’s
Customer Self Service Portal (CSS) using the Pre-Consultation Application option and including the text ‘Request to alter the Special Building List’ in the proposal.
2. Review and Consultation
The Heritage Officer of the Department of Planning conducts a site visit and drafts a report inclusive of photographs and any other relevant materials. The Historic Buildings Advisory Committee (HBAC) is consulted as an advisory body to assist with preparing a recommendation to the Minister.
3. Ministerial Review
The recommendation is submitted to the Minister along with the feedback from HBAC and the listing or de-listing request materials for the Minister’s consideration. The Minister will then determine whether he/she wishes to list or delist the building.
4. Public Consultation
If the Minister wishes to consider altering the special buildings list by listing or delisting a building, a public consultation period of 14 days will normally take place during which any person may submit objections or representations to the proposed listing or delisting. The Minister will consider all comments in reaching his/her decision. However, this is not a statutory requirement.
5. Legal Notice
Once the consultation period has passed, a notice is posted in the Official Gazette if the Minister decides to list or de-list a building. At this stage, the building is officially listed or de-listed.
If the reason for de-listing is primarily for demolition of a building, a demolition permit to carry out the works may be required. For any building built prior to 1981, a preliminary asbestos survey must be reviewed by the Department of Health before any demolition takes place.
Letters of objection and/or representation should be emailed to planningfrontdesk@gov.bm referencing the PLAN or SUB number in the subject line.