Dartmoor National Park Authority

These represent the most important examples from the surviving national stock of historic buildings. Listed buildings are protected – by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act, 1990 (external site, opens new window) - for their special architectural and historic interest. There are currently some 2,800 listed buildings and structures on Dartmoor. These are divided into three grades: grade I (nationally important); grade II* (regionally important) and grade II (locally important). Regardless of their grading all are afforded the same protection, that is, all aspects of the building are covered and thus protected by the listing: the outside and the inside, the plan form and fixtures and fittings. Buildings in the curtilage of a listed building and built before July 1948 are also deemed to have the same protection.

Proposals to make alterations to listed buildings or curtilage buildings require a form of planning permission known as listed building consent. See Informed Building Conservation.

The National Park Authority monitors the condition of the listed building stock by undertaking Buildings at Risk surveys and encourages appropriate repair and use for those deemed most at risk.