Renfrewshire Council

Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas

What listed buildings, scheduled monuments, conservation areas, inventory of gardens and designed landscapes are.

Renfrewshire has many buildings of architectural or historic interest including great mills, fine churches, suburban villas and farm steadings. We also have listed statues.


Listed buildings

Listed buildings are buildings which are on a list compiled or approved by the Scottish Government. 

Listed buildings are assigned to one of three categories by Historic Scotland:

  • Category A - Buildings of national or international importance, either architectural or historic, or fine little-altered examples of some particular period, style or building type;
  • Category B - Buildings of regional or more than local importance, or major examples of some period, style or building type which may have been altered; and,
  • Category C - Buildings of local importance, lesser examples of any period, style or building type, as originally constructed or altered, and simple, traditional buildings, which group well with Categories A and B or are part of a planned group such as an estate or an industrial complex.

Renfrewshire's Category A listed buildings include both Paisley and Renfrew Town Halls, Coats Memorial Church, India of Inchinnan and the Weaver's Cottage in Kilbarchan

There are over 560 listed buildings in Renfrewshire. You can find out where these buildings are on the Historic Scotland website, a link can be found under the Related Links section on this page or by contacting us using the contact details below.


Scheduled monuments

The scheduled monuments in Renfrewshire include such things as prehistoric earthworks, old ruined buildings and industrial archaeology. 

Over 30 of them are considered to be of national importance, and have therefore been given legal protection. These have been scheduled by the Scottish Ministers under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. 

You need Ancient Monument Consent for any works which affect a scheduled ancient monument. Advice and application forms are available from Historic Scotland. 


Conservation areas

Renfrewshire's eight conservation areas are:

  • Castlehead, Paisley
  • Greenlaw, Paisley
  • Houston
  • Kilbarchan
  • Lochwinnoch
  • Ranfurly, Bridge of Weir
  • Paisley Town Centre
  • Thornly Park, Paisley

You can find out if your property is in a conservation area on the interactive map.

All of the conservation areas, except Greenlaw are covered by legal restrictions which remove certain permitted development rights. Find out more about permitted development rights on the page 'Permitted Development'. 

You need conservation consent before you can carry out demolition works in a conservation area. Contact the Council before carrying out works.


Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes

The Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes are defined as 'grounds which are laid out for artistic effect'.  

There are two gardens and designed landscapes in Renfrewshire included in the inventory: the grounds of the former Formakin Estate and the portion of Finlaystone Estate situated in Renfrewshire.

There is more information on gardens and designed landscapes on the Historic Scotland website.