Can a building be removed from the heritage list?

Brooke House in Basildon has been Grade II listed since 1998

A tower block in the middle of Basildon has been an emblem of the "new town" since the early 1960s. With its futuristic design and landmark position in the town, Brooke House was given Grade II listed status in 1998. But local councillors in south Essex are now suggesting that status should be revoked so much-needed repairs would be cheaper. Is that a realistic possibility?

The Brooke House backstory

Built right in the middle of town, Brooke House is synonymous with Basildon's status as a designated "new town", one of many created to solve housing problems, by offering alternative settlements across the UK, with many in counties neighbouring London.

At 14 storeys, it towers above neighbouring shops.

"Brooke House was designed to introduce high-density residential accommodation into Basildon town centre, and visually to provide a dominant vertical landmark to counterbalance the predominantly horizontal emphasis of the surrounding shops," the official list entry states.

However, for those living in the block - once described as "not fit for humans" by the man who now leads Basildon Council - recent years have seen a number of challenges.

Brooke House was evacuated on 18 July after a "severe" flood in its car park. The council told residents it would be uninhabitable for three months.

Work had already been ongoing to move people out while a £16m project to repair the roof and staircase was carried out. Residents were sent letters in January 2024 to inform them of the temporary move, but about 10 of the 84 flats were still occupied before July's flooding.

The Labour council leader, Gavin Callaghan, said the refurbishment project was still due to go ahead despite the flood.

What does listed status mean?

Basildon Development Corporation's chief architect Anthony B Davies designed Brooke House

Historic England maintains a list of buildings of special architectural or historical interest across the UK.

The government sets out the principles for how buildings are selected and whether they meet statutory criteria.

Records of each site - which includes buildings, battlefields, monuments, parks, gardens, shipwrecks and more - are held on the publicly-available National Heritage List for England.

There are three grades - Grade I, Grade II* and Grade II. Just under 92% of listed properties are Grade II, like Brooke House.

If the owner of a listed building wants to make changes, they must apply for listed building consent. This includes modifying or replacing windows or internal features as well as any structural work.

It is a criminal offence to carry out work without listed building consent.

Who is suggesting it should be de-listed?

Work on the roof and staircase is due to be carried out at Brooke House

Conservative opposition leader on Basildon Council, Andy Barnes, said "part of the problem" with the building was its listed status as it made "carrying out repairs on it extremely challenging and very expensive".

For example, he said, the council had to go to the original manufacturer of the building's windows and get bespoke replacements.

Mr Barnes said his party was suggesting getting Brooke House de-listed as it was not the only tall building in town.

"We believe there are grounds to revoke the listing, specifically because it was originally listed for being a particularly tall building within the confines of Basildon town centre, and that's no longer the case," Mr Barnes said.

"Brooke House does not stand out in the way that it used to."

How does de-listing work?

Secretary of State Lisa Nandy would have to give final approval to de-list a building

Historic England said a building could only be removed from the list if the secretary of state for culture, media and sport agreed it no longer held special architectural or historic interest.

It added that an application could be made if new evidence became apparent, or if there was a material change of circumstances such as fire damage.

Historic England told the BBC that about 100 sites were removed from the list each year, mostly for administrative purposes or where there was a duplicate entry.

What has the reaction been?

The building's "pilotis" - the stilts/piers that support it - are mentioned in the heritage list entry, where they are described as "bold and subtly profiled"

Catherine Croft, director of the Twentieth Century Society, believed there were definitely no grounds to de-list Brooke House.

"It certainly wasn't just listed for being tall," she said.

"Basildon should be proud of it, and with investment in its refurbishment and responsible ongoing maintenance, it should be a brilliant place to live.

"It's a key part of the town centre - it's listed for its overall design and the key role it plays in the history of the town."

Basildon Council said it had looked in to the idea with Essex Place Services, which told the authority it would be "incredibility problematic (and unlikely) and something we would not support".

The council said Essex Place Services - a company which works with the county council - had also said of Brooke House: "Its significance is well-established and has not degraded to a degree that would warrant de-listing".