Amenity societies in the London Borough of Wandsworth have helped to update the borough’s local list with the help of a customized version of the Placecheck app.

The review of the local list added buildings, parks and gardens to the around 500 locally listed buildings that the borough already had. The app enabled people to add a building, feature, or historic park or garden to an online map, with a description and a photograph. This could be done using a smart phone or tablet, or at home on a computer. A total of 498 markers were added to the map, many of them with a photo of the building, park or garden, and many providing a considerable amount of information.

The Placecheck app’s mapping information was transferred to the council’s geographic information system (GIS), which then displayed the information internally and externally via web mapping pages. The map is based on Wandsworth’s Ordnance Survey licence, and the app also uses the free Open Street map. The mapped suggestions were considered for inclusion in the local list by a panel drawn from the amenity societies and chaired by the council’s heritage champion.

Locally listed buildings, parks and gardens that are included enjoy additional protection in a conservation area or within the curtilage of a listed building. Elsewhere, works to a locally listed building or historic park and garden represent a material consideration under the National Planning Policy Framework. Additional protection to local listing can be provided through the making of Article 4 directions, relating to changes of use, demolition and alterations.

‘The Placecheck app enabled us to collaborate with local people in reviewing our local list,’ says Wandsworth planner Barry Sellers, ‘and it provides us with a user-friendly, efficient, visual and transparent method of handling large amounts of information.’

Email admin@placecheck.info to find out about other options for customizing your Placecheck.