Defibrillators on Listed Buildings

How to Obtain Listed Building Approval (Section 98) for an Automated External Defibrillator (AED)

An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is a portable life saving device that can give a casualty’s heart an electric shock, when it has stopped beating normally in a sudden cardiac arrest. By using a defibrillator before an ambulance arrives, you can significantly increase someone’s chance of survival. For details on whether your community needs a defibrillator, how to fund one, and where to purchase one please see the British Heart Foundation website.

Having a public access defibrillator available in an emergency can be life-saving. This is particularly true in rural areas where ambulance response times may be longer. As community buildings, often centrally located within our towns and villages, our churches can play a key part in creating a nation of life savers. The installation of AED’s on our buildings are therefore encouraged and often supported.

However, many of our older church buildings are listed buildings of special architectural and historic interest, and are given statutory protection. Consequently, you may require listed building approval before you fix your AED to your ecclesiastical building. As a church which benefits from the Ecclesiastical Exemption any application for listed building consent for an AED should be dealt with via our internal system of control rather than through the secular system. Details of our internal systems can be found here and enquiries should be directed to the Connexional Conservation Officer via email conservation@methodistchurch.org.uk or via telephone 0161 235 6739. It is also advisable that you raise a project on the Methodist Church’s online consent system 

What information do I need to provide to obtain Listed Building Approval?

The following is a guide only, please do include any relevant information, and remember that the level of information should be relative to the scope of the works. The headings are presented below:

1. Name and Address of Church;
2. Circuit Details;
3. Project Number and Project Originator (Author of Supporting Document if different);
4. Introduction:
   1. Purpose of Scheme; and
   2. Outline the documentation included in support of the scheme.
5. Listing Details;
6. Proposal;
7. Background;
8. Statement of Need (Further Guidance on how to write a Statement of Need can be found here);
9. Statement of Significance (Further Guidance on how to write a Statement of Significance can be found here);
10. Other Useful Information (Why has the location been chosen? Electricity Supply? Cost of Connection? Scheme Sponsor? Advice taken i.e. St John’s Ambulance? Etc.
11. Supporting Documentation:
    1. Photographs of the church indicating the proposed position of the unit;
    2. Location Map;
    3. Photograph of Proposed Unit; and
    4. Technical Information Sheet of the Proposed Unit.

An example of an application can be found here

Once you have completed your submission documentation please forward it to the Connexional Conservation Officer at conservation@methodistchurch.org.uk who can then advise on next steps.