Authorities will have to consider whether demolition is likely to have a significant environmental effect in the same way as they already do for new developments, the Court of Appeal said.
They will also have to consider applications for planning permission for an extended range of demolition projects in the same way as they consider applications for the demolition of dwellings.
Campaigning group SAVE Britain's Heritage successfully opposed Lancaster City Council's decision to authorise the demolition of the city's historic Mitchell Brewery Building without prior approval.
The ruling means that demolition of buildings and structures in the UK now falls within the scope of both national planning laws and European environmental laws for the first time. Any demolition that is likely to have a significant impact on the environment will need to be assessed in the same way as a development project.
The EIA Directive prescribes that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) be carried out whenever construction works are proposed.
An EIA assesses both the positive and negative impacts of proposed projects and ensures that such impacts are taken into account when a decision is made to grant planning permission or not.
The Town and Country Planning Act currently provides that demolition will not constitute development works if it is the demolition of a category of building set out in the Demolition Direction. However, the court found that there was no reason why this should be the case.
"It is a curious, and thoroughly unsatisfactory, feature of [the Direction] that those demolitions which are most likely to have an effect on the cultural heritage - the demolition of listed buildings, ancient monuments and buildings in a conservation area - are effectively excluded from the ambit of the Directive," said Lord Justice Sullivan.
As a consequence of the court's action to quash the Direction permission will now be required for the demolition of listed buildings, buildings in conservation areas, scheduled ancient monuments and any other buildings apart from dwellings or buildings adjoining dwellings.
"This is a crucial judgment which will have far-reaching effects on the way that local councils deal with demolition of all types of building," said William Palin, SAVE's secretary, in a statement.
"We have argued for years that it is absurd that a developer can escape the Directive by separating demolition from development when it is clear that demolition can and does have serious impacts on the environment," he said.
Steve Quartermain, the Government's Chief Planning Officer for England and Wales, has published an advisory letter to local authorities following the decision.
"[A local planning authority] will have to consider applications for determination for prior approval for this expanded range of demolition projects, in the same way as you do for the demolition of dwelling houses," the letter said.
"You should also consider whether the demolition project is likely to have significant environmental effects and requires a screening option to be issued."
