War memorials: listing, relocation and works

Most freestanding war memorials of any age in England are listed buildings in their own right, and a good number were added to the National Heritage List during the centenary of the First World War. That single fact governs everything that follows. Cleaning, repointing, re-lettering, adding names and moving a memorial are all capable of needing listed building consent, and carrying out such works without consent is a criminal offence under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.

For a parish council or a memorial committee that is unwelcome news, because the work is usually well intentioned and often urgent. The route through it is manageable, and it starts with checking the list entry.

Why memorials are frequently listed

War memorials are listed for historic interest as much as for architectural quality. A plain granite cross in a village square may have little architectural merit and considerable commemorative importance, and the list description will usually say so.

Look the memorial up on the National Heritage List for England before doing anything. Read the full entry rather than the summary, because the description identifies what is considered to matter: the form, the materials, the lettering, the surrounding setting and any railings or enclosure.

Two other possibilities are worth checking at the same time. A memorial inside or attached to a church may be covered by the ecclesiastical exemption, in which case works are authorised through the relevant denomination's own system rather than by listed building consent from the council. And a memorial that is not listed may still stand in a conservation area, where its setting is protected and demolition controls apply.

Where the memorial's significance needs setting out formally, a Heritage Statement is the document that does it, and even a short one changes how a case officer reads the application.

Consent for cleaning and repair

Cleaning is the works most often carried out without consent, and it is the works most likely to cause permanent harm.

Abrasive cleaning, high pressure water and chemical poultices all remove surface material, and on limestone, sandstone and bronze the loss is irreversible. Biological growth removal on a granite cross is a different proposition from cleaning soiled Portland stone lettering. The practical test is whether the method affects the character of the memorial as a structure of special interest, and where it removes surface or alters appearance, consent is needed.

Like for like repair generally does not need consent. Repointing in a matching lime mortar, resetting a displaced kerb, or refixing a loose bronze plaque with the original fixings are repairs. Replacing a stone shaft, changing the mortar specification, or applying a coating are alterations.

Two habits help. Take detailed photographs before any work, at close range and in good light. And obtain a method statement from the contractor describing the cleaning system, the dwell time and the trial area, because conservation officers judge cleaning applications on the method rather than on the intention. Grant funders often ask for the same thing, and our note on heritage at risk grants, repairs notices and urgent works covers the funding routes and their conditions.

Adding names and new inscriptions

Adding names, whether newly researched casualties from the two world wars or those of later conflicts, is works to a listed structure and normally needs consent.

The design questions are the ones that occupy conservation officers.

• Whether new lettering matches the original in font, size, depth and spacing, or is deliberately distinguished from it.
• Whether there is space on the original faces without crowding the composition.
• Whether a separate plaque or a new panel at the base is a better answer than cutting into the original stone.
• Who cuts the letters, because hand cut lettering by a trained letter cutter and machine cut lettering read very differently at close range.

The usual outcome is that additions to the historic faces are accepted where the original design anticipated them and the lettering matches, and that separate panels are preferred where the original faces are full or the addition would disrupt the design. Have the research checked before the stone is cut. Adding a name in error and removing it afterwards causes far more harm than the original omission.

Relocation and the tests applied

Relocation is the hardest application to win, because the position of a memorial is usually part of its significance. Sites were chosen deliberately, often after public subscription and debate, and the relationship to a churchyard, a crossroads, a school or a works entrance is part of what the memorial means.

But relocation is sometimes the only way to keep a memorial safe and visible: highway schemes, the loss of an enclosing building, vandalism in a concealed location, or a setting that has become a car park.

Expect to address four points. The harm caused by the loss of the existing setting. The public benefit of the proposed move. Why less harmful alternatives, including improving the existing setting, do not work. And who will maintain the memorial in its new position. The statutory duty on decision makers to have special regard to preserving a listed structure and its setting is what drives that structure of argument, which our note on what sections 66 and 72 require of decisions explains in more detail.

Where the move would cause more than minor harm, the case has to be correspondingly stronger, and our note on substantial harm and the justification test sets out what that means in policy terms.

Consultation beyond the council

Three groups matter besides the local planning authority.

Historic England is a statutory consultee on applications affecting higher graded listed buildings and on certain other works, and its regional team will comment on relocation or substantial alteration of any war memorial where asked. Approach them informally before the application rather than after.

The national war memorials charity maintains records, offers conservation advice and administers grants, and local authorities and Historic England both signpost to it. Councils frequently expect an applicant to have taken that advice.

And the community. Memorials belong, in practice if not in law, to the people who use them. Local branches of service charities, the parish or town council, descendants of the named casualties, and the school or workplace that raised the memorial all have a legitimate interest. A relocation application that arrives without evidence of consultation tends to attract objections that could have been answered in advance.

Ownership is often unclear. Where no owner can be identified, the War Memorials (Local Authorities' Powers) Act 1923 gives local authorities powers to maintain, repair and protect war memorials, and it is worth establishing the position before an application is submitted rather than at validation.

Funding and grant conditions

Grant funding for memorial repair comes from several directions, and each set of conditions shapes the works.

Typical requirements are a conservation-accredited professional or a specialist contractor, a method statement approved in advance, competitive quotations, a maintenance commitment, and photographic recording before and after. Where a grant requires recording, a Historic Building Recording exercise at an agreed level is the usual deliverable, and doing it properly at the outset avoids repeating it.

Match the funding timetable to the consent timetable. Listed building consent takes around eight weeks and carries no application fee, and a grant offer with a spend deadline inside that period creates avoidable pressure.

Preparing a proposal

A workable submission for memorial works is short and evidenced: the list entry, a description of the memorial and its condition, photographs, the proposed works with a contractor's method statement, a statement of significance and the effect of the works on it, and a note of the consultation undertaken.

Where the proposal is a relocation, add a plan showing both positions, a description of each setting, and the maintenance arrangements. For re-lettering, add the proposed lettering layout drawn to scale and the source of the names.

Then allow time. A memorial rededication tied to a particular anniversary is the most common reason these projects run into trouble, and consent cannot be hurried by the date of a ceremony.

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.