To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will initiate new measures within his Department, in conjunction with English Heritage, to draw up a scheme whereby the reasons for the listing of buildings are fully examined when decisions are both positive and negative.
The Secretary of State has published national criteria for listing in DOE circular 8/87 and takes careful account of English Heritage's advice, and of any other representations, before reaching his decisions. When a building is listed, the list entry identifies the main features which are considered to justify the listing. When a building is not listed, reasons for the decision are given; but whether a building is or is not of special architectural or historic interest will inevitably often be a matter of judgment.