Milestones, signposts and other small listed structures

The word building does a lot of work in planning law. Under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 it includes any structure or erection, and that is why a cast iron milepost, a stone boundary marker, a village pump, a set of gate piers, a pinfold or a wooden finger post can be listed in its own right. Most are Grade II. Most have no owner who knows they are listed.

For a farmer or estate owner, that combination is the risk. Works to a listed structure without consent is a criminal offence under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, and the offence does not depend on knowing the structure was listed.

What gets listed beyond buildings

The categories that catch landowners out fall into a few groups.

• Route markers: milestones, mileposts, boundary stones, finger posts and guide stoops.
• Water and agricultural structures: pumps, wells, troughs, sheep dips, pinfolds and dovecotes.
• Enclosure and access: gate piers, stiles, kissing gates, ha-has and estate walls.
• Street furniture: telephone kiosks, pillar boxes, horse troughs, drinking fountains and lamp standards.
• Commemorative items: war memorials, crosses, obelisks and monuments.

Two further points matter on rural land. A structure standing within the curtilage of a listed building, which formed part of the land before 1 July 1948, is treated as part of that listed building even where the list entry never mentions it. And a small number of these structures are scheduled monuments rather than listed buildings, which is a different and stricter regime administered centrally.

Finding the structure on the national list

Search the National Heritage List for England by map rather than by name. Names are inconsistent, and a milestone may be listed as "Milestone approximately 400 metres north east of Church Farm" with no reference a landowner would recognise.

Read the full entry when you find it, because the description tells you what is considered to matter: the material, the lettering, the ironwork, the setting and any associated structure. It also gives the list entry number, which is the reference to quote in any correspondence.

Check the boundary too. Many roadside structures sit in the highway verge rather than on the adjoining title, and that changes who is responsible. Where the verge is highway maintainable at public expense, the highway authority has an interest, and works by its contractors are a common source of damage.

Responsibility for maintenance

There is no statutory duty on an owner to keep a listed building or structure in repair. What exists instead are two powers held by the local planning authority.

An urgent works notice can require works to preserve an unoccupied listed building or a structure at risk, with the authority able to carry out the works and recover the cost. A repairs notice is the first step towards compulsory purchase where a listed building is being allowed to deteriorate. Both are used sparingly and both are available in principle for a small structure. Our note on heritage at risk grants, repairs notices and urgent works sets out how those powers work in practice.

The more common reality is neglect by nobody in particular. A milestone half buried by verge cuttings, a pump with a broken handle, a finger post with a missing arm. None of that is an offence. Repairing it badly can be.

Works needing consent

The test is whether the works affect the character of the structure as one of special architectural or historic interest. Applied to a small structure, that catches more than people expect.

Relocation is the one to be most careful about, because it is often done with good intentions. Moving a milestone back from a widened carriageway, or into a farmyard "for safekeeping", removes it from the setting that gives it meaning. Consent is needed and the case has to be made.

Where a Heritage Statement is required to support an application, it can be short. Half a page identifying the structure, describing its significance, explaining the works and why they are the least harmful option is enough for a milestone.

Damage during highway or farm operations

This is where most harm to these structures actually happens. Verge flailing, hedge cutting, ditching, ploughing to the field edge, vehicle strikes, and stone clearance by a contractor who did not know what the stone was.

Three practical measures reduce the risk to near zero.

1. Map them. Mark every listed structure on the farm plan, in the field records, and in whatever system directs contractors.
2. Brief contractors in writing, with a photograph and the location. A verbal instruction at the gate does not survive a change of operator.
3. Mark them on the ground where safe to do so, with a post or a marker set back far enough not to touch the structure.

Where contractors work under an agri-environment agreement or a highway maintenance contract, the obligation to avoid damage will usually already be in the contract, and pointing to it after the event is less useful than pointing to it beforehand.

Reinstatement after accidental damage

If a structure is damaged, the sequence matters more than the speed.

Stop work in the area. Photograph everything, including the fragments and their positions. Collect and retain every piece, however small, in a secure dry place. Then contact the local planning authority's conservation officer the same day and tell them what has happened, before deciding on any repair.

Reporting damage promptly is in your interest. An owner who reports an accident and seeks advice is in a very different position from one whose repair is discovered later. Repair works will usually need listed building consent, and where the structure has to be recorded before or during repair, a short Historic Building Recording exercise at an agreed level provides the evidence.

Insurance is worth checking in advance. Many rural policies exclude or limit cover for heritage structures, and the cost of a stonemason and a letter cutter for a Grade II milestone is not trivial.

Who to contact first

Start with the local planning authority's conservation officer. They hold the consent function, they know the structure, and they will tell you whether the works need consent. Ask for the answer in writing.

Then, depending on the structure, one or two others. The highway authority where the structure stands in the verge or the carriageway. The parish or town council, who often hold local knowledge and sometimes funds. Historic England's regional office where the structure is highly graded or the works are substantial. And the county Historic Environment Record, which may hold records of the structure and will want a copy of anything you produce.

The statutory duty on decision makers to have special regard to preserving a listed structure and its setting applies to a milestone exactly as it does to a country house, and our note on what sections 66 and 72 require of decisions explains what that means for an application.

There is no fee for a listed building consent application, and determination is normally eight weeks. For a small structure the paperwork is proportionate: photographs, a location plan, a description of the works, and a short statement of significance.

This article is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.