{"id":1177020,"date":"2026-08-30T09:53:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T09:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1177020\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T09:53:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T09:53:48","slug":"fewer-than-three-convictions-in-northern-ireland-for-unauthorised-demolition-or-alteration-of-listed-buildings-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1177020\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Fewer than three\u2019 convictions in Northern Ireland for unauthorised demolition or alteration of listed buildings \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fewer than three people have been convicted in Northern Ireland over the past decade for demolishing or altering listed buildings<\/a> without approval \u2013 despite at least 20 sites being demolished and 40 being altered in the last five years alone.<\/p>\n

The figures come following the most recent incident of a listed building being demolished without prior approval at the Antrim Arms Hotel in Ballycastle last month<\/a>. <\/p>\n

An investigation was launched<\/a> following the discovery and a spokesperson for Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council<\/a> confirmed that as of the end of August, \u201cthe matter remains under investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/b>Work to restore historic Assembly Rooms begins in Belfast<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

\"‘Fewer<\/a>\"‘Irish<\/a><\/p>\n

While the council continues to investigate this specific case, elsewhere, there have been just three prosecutions relating to other buildings across the north in the past ten years. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe Antrim Arms Hotel in Ballycastle that has been demolished in July of this year. Council has said the matter remains under investigation PICTURE: MARGARET MCLAUGHLIN <\/p>\n

In a response to a Freedom of Information request from The Irish News, the Department of Justice (DoJ) said that there had been \u201cfewer than three convictions\u201d in relation to the \u201cdemolition or alteration of listed buildings\u201d between 2016 and 2025. <\/p>\n

The convictions relate to cases where there was at least one offence under Section 85 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 \u2013 the main piece of legislation which protects listed buildings in the north.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor each of these convictions, the main disposal was a monetary penalty,\u201d they added. <\/p>\n

The DoJ said that the figures related to initial outcomes at court and did not include appeals.<\/p>\n

A person found guilty under current legislation can face a prison sentence of up to either six months or two years, depending on the court they are tried in, a fine of up to \u00a3100,000, or both.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Department for Communities (DfC), whose Historic Environment Division (HED) is responsible for listing buildings and advising on planning applications and enforcement taken by councils, said that they were aware of 22 buildings which had been demolished or partially demolished since 2021. <\/p>\n

For the same period, they were also aware of 40 buildings which had been altered or extended without prior written permission.<\/p>\n

They added that these figures reflect \u201conly the activity that DfC has been involved with\u201d and does not include other instances where advice has not been sought by councils. <\/p>\n

Reflecting on the low number of convictions, John Anderson from the planning committee of Ulster Architectural Heritage (UAH), told The Irish News that it represented a \u201clack of political will\u201d on the part of councils, DfC \u2013 and the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), as the primary department associated with the planning act \u2013 to enforce the legislation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn general terms, there\u2019s nothing wrong with the legislation. The legislation is adequate the way it is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"StewartsJohn Anderson of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society said that the low number of convictions represented a ‘lack of political will’ to enforce legislation PICTURE: MAL MCCANN <\/p>\n

\u201cIt would seem that there is no political will to use those powers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very unusual piece of legislation in that there are absolutely no ifs and buts in it. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you do it without permission, it is a criminal offence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Anderson added that once a listed site is knocked down \u201cit\u2019s not coming back\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cLosing these buildings, it\u2019s not like cutting down a tree. You can always grow another tree,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is permanent loss; and every one of the buildings is part of cumulative loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s yet another one of the list of dwindling national assets.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to criticism over there being a \u201clack of political will\u201d across departments to enforce legislation, a Department for Communities spokesperson said: \u201cDistrict councils in their role as local planning authorities, have responsibility for the enforcement of planning control including in relation to listed buildings under Part 4 of the Planning (NI) Act 2011.\u201d <\/p>\n

Asked if DfC had ever brought a prosecution over illegal works to a listed building where a council has failed to do so, the department added: \u201cNo. While DfC retains a power, as district councils also hold this power and are the planning authority, they are regarded as the lead enforcement authority responsible for investigating and pursuing enforcement action where it considers this to be justified. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Department would only undertake such action in exceptional circumstances. This could be, for instance, where listed buildings are in the ownership of a district council.\u201d <\/p>\n

The DfI has also been contacted for a response. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fewer than three people have been convicted in Northern Ireland over the past decade for demolishing or altering…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1177021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5011],"tags":[318935,90013,139405,92995,1144,12717,16,15],"class_list":["post-1177020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-northern-ireland","tag-conviction","tag-demolition","tag-dfc","tag-dfi","tag-northern-ireland","tag-planning","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117183860994570164","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1177020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1177020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1177020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1177021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1177020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1177020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1177020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}