War memorials and the protection they carry
Listed war memorials need consent for relocation or alteration, and undesignated ones carry weight as non-designated heritage assets through their communal value.
Most war memorials in England are protected, and many are listed at Grade II in their own right on the National Heritage List for England. Where a memorial is listed, moving it or altering it needs listed building consent from the council, and there is no route around that through permitted development. Where it is not listed, it will almost always be treated as a non-designated heritage asset, which puts it into the planning balance without creating a consent requirement.
For a community group or a parish council dealing with a development next door, the practical question is usually about setting rather than about the memorial itself.
Designation of memorials
Historic England assessed and listed many memorials during the centenary of the First World War, and the list entries usually describe the designer, the materials, the form and the inscriptions. Grade II is the norm. A small number are listed at Grade II* or Grade I, typically where the designer was nationally significant or the memorial is of exceptional form.
Some memorials are covered another way. A memorial inside a listed church is part of the listed building. A memorial within the curtilage of a listed building may be covered by that entry. Memorial gardens and grounds are occasionally included on the Register of Parks and Gardens.
Search the national list before assuming a memorial is undesignated, and read the entry rather than the summary, because the wording defines the scope. An entry that mentions the surrounding railings and setts brings them inside the designation.
Policy protection for undesignated memorials
A memorial that is not listed is still a heritage asset in planning terms. Many appear on local heritage lists. Others are recorded on the Historic Environment Record held by the county archaeologist.
National policy asks decision makers to take a balanced judgement on harm to a non-designated heritage asset, having regard to the scale of harm and the significance of the asset. Communal value carries real weight for a memorial, because the significance lies substantially in what the object means to the community that raised it rather than in its architectural quality. A plain granite cross of no special design interest can carry high communal value.
Adopted local plans frequently contain a policy on non-designated assets, and some authorities have a specific policy on war memorials. Read the plan, since it is the starting point under section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.
Relocation and the consents needed
Relocation is the hardest thing to achieve and the most common reason a scheme meets organised opposition.
For a listed memorial, removal is demolition of the whole of a listed building and relocation is treated as demolition followed by re-erection. Both need listed building consent under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, and carrying out the works without consent is an offence under section 9. The application has to justify the loss from the existing position as well as the suitability of the new one.
Position is frequently part of the significance. A memorial placed on a village green faces the church for a reason. One set at a crossroads was sited where the men who are named marched out. Where the setting explains the object, relocation harms significance even if the fabric survives untouched.
Two additional regimes catch people out. A memorial in a churchyard or church in ecclesiastical use falls under the faculty jurisdiction of the relevant denomination rather than the council's listed building consent, so the application goes to the diocesan chancellor. And a memorial standing in the public highway involves the highway authority as well as the planning authority.
Development affecting the setting
Where the memorial stays and a scheme is built near it, the tests are about setting.
For a listed memorial, section 66 of the 1990 Act requires the decision maker to have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building and its setting, and the courts have treated that as considerable importance and weight. That is a stronger duty than an ordinary planning balance, as sections 66 and 72 set out.
Practical points that decide these applications: whether the memorial remains legible from the approach that matters, whether the new building overshadows it at the time of year when services are held, whether the space in front of it can still hold a gathering, whether new lighting washes out the inscription, and whether construction access crosses the setting.
Assess the setting by walking it. Photographs from the pavement outside the red line will not tell you what a wreath laying on a November morning looks like from the space in front of the memorial.
Community consultation expectations
Applications affecting memorials attract objection in volume, and the tone matters more than the technical argument.
Start early and start locally. The parish or town council, the local branch of the veterans organisation that maintains the memorial, the civic society and the families of those named are the constituencies that will be heard. Engaging them before the application is submitted is far more effective than responding to objections afterwards.
Be honest about what is proposed. Communities react badly to a proposal presented as an enhancement when it involves moving the memorial ten metres, and that reaction follows the application through to committee.
Where a scheme involves any physical change, a Statement of Community Involvement recording who was consulted, what they said and what changed is worth preparing even where it is not a validation requirement.
Repair and conservation standards
Repair is where well intentioned work does lasting damage.
Abrasive cleaning removes the surface of stone and the crisp edge of lettering, and it cannot be undone. Repainting inscriptions in the wrong colour or the wrong paint system traps moisture. Cement mortar repairs to a limestone memorial spall the surrounding stone. Re-cutting worn lettering removes original fabric and is rarely justified where a record exists.
Historic England publishes advice on the conservation and repair of war memorials, and it is the right starting point for a specification. Where a listed memorial is decaying and nobody will act, the council can use its urgent works powers under section 54 of the 1990 Act, and grant funding routes exist for repair. The wider position on grants, repairs notices and urgent works applies to memorials as it does to buildings.
Adding names is a common request and needs thought. On a listed memorial, cutting new names may need consent, and the lettering style, depth and stone selection should match the original rather than approximate it. Local authorities have had power to maintain war memorials since the War Memorials (Local Authorities' Powers) Act 1923, which is often the route to funding a proper specification.
Damage to a memorial is also a criminal matter. Changes made by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 mean criminal damage to a memorial can be tried in either court regardless of the value of the damage, reflecting that the loss is not measured in pounds.
Handling a scheme adjacent to one
- Search the national list, the local list and the Historic Environment Record for the memorial and anything named with it.
- Establish who owns and maintains it, which is often the parish council rather than the landowner.
- Identify the views and the gathering space that carry the significance, and survey them on the ground.
- Design so the approach view and the assembly space in front of the memorial are unchanged.
- Consult the parish council and the maintaining organisation before submission.
- Set out the setting assessment in a Heritage Statement, with the section 66 duty addressed expressly where the memorial is listed.
- Offer conditions covering construction exclusion fencing, lighting design and reinstatement of any surface disturbed.
An illustrative example: a small housing scheme behind a village green with a Grade II listed memorial cross. The layout is revised so no dwelling appears in the view from the lychgate towards the cross. Construction access is moved to the far side of the site, with protective fencing around the memorial and its setts. External lighting is specified to avoid spill onto the cross. The heritage statement concludes no harm to setting, and the parish council does not object.
PlanScope drafts a Heritage Statement from your site details and answers, structured to UK planning policy, with gaps flagged where facts are missing rather than filled in. Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports your site is likely to need.
This 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.
Frequently asked questions
Are all war memorials listed?
No, though many were assessed and listed during the First World War centenary, mostly at Grade II. Memorials inside listed churches form part of that listed building, and some fall within the curtilage of another listed structure. Unlisted memorials are normally treated as non-designated heritage assets, often recorded on a local heritage list.
Can a war memorial be moved?
Only with consent, and it is hard to justify. For a listed memorial, removal is demolition of a listed building and relocation is treated as demolition followed by re-erection, so listed building consent is needed for both. Position is often part of the significance, which means moving the memorial harms it even if the fabric survives intact.
Who decides an application for a memorial in a churchyard?
The faculty jurisdiction of the denomination applies to memorials in churches and churchyards in ecclesiastical use, so the application goes to the diocesan chancellor rather than the council. A memorial standing in the public highway involves the highway authority alongside the planning authority. Confirm which regime applies before preparing anything.
What does the section 66 duty mean for a scheme near a listed memorial?
The decision maker must have special regard to the desirability of preserving the memorial and its setting, which the courts have treated as carrying considerable importance and weight. In practice that means showing the approach view, the space used for services and the legibility of the inscription are unaffected by what you propose.
How should a memorial be cleaned or repaired?
Follow Historic England's conservation advice and avoid abrasive cleaning, which removes stone surface and the crisp edge of lettering permanently. Cement mortar repairs damage limestone. Re-cutting worn names removes original fabric and is rarely justified where a record survives. Local authorities have had maintenance powers since the War Memorials (Local Authorities' Powers) Act 1923.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.