What Happens When A Listed Building Is Illegally Demolished?

There is so much value in historic buildings and structures because there are so few surviving examples of many historic buildings, and anyone who owns or manages a piece of history has a legal duty to carefully steward it and be mindful of its character when restoring it.

Most of the time, this involves taking care of a historic building and knowing when you need listed building consent and how to apply for it, with most people who have such a building in their possession having as vested an interest in its preservation as the nation does.

However, what happens if someone brazenly demolishes or irreparably alters a listed building to the point that it cannot be fixed easily, if at all?

It is possible to get consent to make significant alterations to a listed building in very limited circumstances, and even demolish a historic building if the Conservation Officer of your local planning authority agrees that demolition is the only option.

This was not the case, for example, with Carsebrudge House, which was owned by the somewhat ironically named Advance Construction.

The building was the victim of a fire in late August 2024, which led to a Dangerous Building Notice being filed on the building to keep the site secure, as well as a petition by residents of Clackmannanshire to preserve the heritage of the site and reject a request for demolition.

However, before the demolition application could be approved or denied, Advance Construction demolished the building illegally on 18th September, given that Historic Environment Scotland noted that they would have objected to the demolition of the B-listed building if the relevant planning authority had ruled it safe.

Whilst the relevant law is different in Scotland than it is in England and Wales, the penalty for an illegal demolition can be as high as two years imprisonment and an unlimited fine, which means that the concept of asking for forgiveness rather than permission is exceptionally costly.