Designation is a recognition of a building, monument or site’s significance, intended to make sure that the character of the asset in question is protected through the planning system and allow it to be passed on to future generations.

The most commonly known form of designation is listing, as in listed buildings, but there are three other types of designation: scheduling, registering and protecting. These are determined by the type of asset concerned.

Designation is the term given to the practice of listing buildings, scheduling monuments, registering parks, gardens and battlefields, and protecting wreck sites. These are collectively known as designated assets. Designation highlights what is significant about an asset and helps to make sure that any future changes made to it do not result in the loss of its significance.