Heritage statement for Westminster, stating the level of harm as the council asks
Westminster requires a heritage statement for any application for works to a listed building, and for development in conservation areas, registered parks and gardens and the World Heritage Site. It asks the statement to say whether the impact is positive, neutral, harmful or a total loss, and to justify any harm. We write it for a fixed £595.
Fixed fee from £595 · all prices
Prefer to talk it through?
When Westminster requires one
The council's heritage statements page says its local validation requirements require a heritage statement with applications where a heritage asset or its setting is affected. That includes all applications for development or works to a listed building, development in conservation areas, registered parks and gardens and the Westminster World Heritage Site, and development affecting their settings.
For less complex cases it may form a section within the design and access statement. The page was last updated on 5 August 2026.
Heritage Statement in Westminster
from £595
Every price is the full fixed fee you pay. No VAT is charged. Council application fees are paid to the council separately.
What you get
- An explanation of the significance of each heritage asset affected, with its setting
- The impact of the works on that significance
- A statement of whether the result is positive, no effect, harm or total loss
- Justification of any harm: degree, alternatives considered and public benefits
- A document that sits beside the design and access statement or within it
- A note where an archaeological assessment may be needed
- Explain significance
The asset or assets affected, and what their setting adds.
- Explain the impact
What the works do to that significance.
- Classify the result
Positive, no effect, harm (and how much), or total loss.
- Justify any harm
Degree, alternatives, public and heritage benefits.
- Check the extras
Archaeology, World Heritage Site, photographs.
The structure the council sets out
Westminster sets out four jobs for the statement: explain the significance of the heritage assets affected, including any contribution made by their settings; explain the impact of the proposed works on that significance; explain whether the proposal is likely to result in a positive impact, no effect, harm (including the level of harm), or the total loss of significance; and, where any harm is caused, provide full justification.
That justification must set out the degree of harm, whether substantial or less than substantial, the alternatives considered to avoid harm, and any public benefits, including heritage benefits. A statement that stops at significance does not meet the list, and we write the harm classification explicitly.
The council's conservation areas page says there are 56 in Westminster.
A template, with a warning
The council offers a heritage statement template as a guide to its requirements. It notes that the template refers to old City Plan policy numbers and is being updated, so we write to the council's current wording and policies rather than copy the template headings.
World Heritage Site and archaeology
If your application has the potential to affect the Outstanding Universal Value of the Westminster World Heritage Site, the council says a separate Heritage Impact Assessment is needed, prepared in line with the 2022 UNESCO HIA guidance. There is also a separate requirement for an archaeological assessment for development affecting Archaeological Priority Areas.
Those are specialist documents and we say plainly when a project needs one.
Conservation areas and cost
The council's conservation areas page says there are 56 in Westminster. Our fixed £595 covers the statement. Government guidance says there is no fee for a listed building consent application, and our listed building consent drawings are a separate fixed-fee service.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| all works to a listed building | Westminster City Council, Heritage statements: require a heritage statement where a heritage asset or its setting is affected, including all applications for development or works to a listed building, and development in conservation areas, registered parks and gardens and the World Heritage Site | www.westminster.gov.uk |
| may form a section of the DAS | Westminster City Council, Heritage statements: for less complex cases this may form a section within the Design and Access Statement | www.westminster.gov.uk |
| positive, no effect, harm or total loss | Westminster City Council, Heritage statements: explain whether a proposal is likely to result in a positive impact, no effect, harm (including the level of harm), or the total loss of significance | www.westminster.gov.uk |
| justify degree of harm, alternatives, public benefits | Westminster City Council, Heritage statements: where any harm is caused provide full justification, setting out the degree of harm (substantial or less than substantial), alternatives considered and any public benefits (including heritage benefits) | www.westminster.gov.uk |
| template refers to old policy numbers | Westminster City Council, Heritage statements: a heritage statement template is offered as a guide; it refers to old city plan policy numbers and is being updated | www.westminster.gov.uk |
| separate HIA for the World Heritage Site | Westminster City Council, Heritage statements: a Heritage Impact Assessment prepared in line with the 2022 UNESCO HIA Guidance is required if the application has the potential to impact the Outstanding Universal Value of the Westminster World Heritage Site | www.westminster.gov.uk |
| 56 | Westminster City Council, Conservation areas: there are 56 conservation areas in Westminster | www.westminster.gov.uk |
| no fee | Planning Practice Guidance, Historic environment, para 044: (source wording: "There is no fee for submitting an application for listed building consent") | www.gov.uk |
Questions people ask
Do I need a heritage statement for any work to a listed building in Westminster?
What must it say about harm?
Can it be part of the design and access statement?
How many conservation areas are there in Westminster?
Photographs: Richard Symonds (CC BY-SA 4.0); Marathon (CC BY-SA 2.0); John Lord (CC BY-SA 2.0); John Lord (CC BY-SA 2.0).
