Listed Building Consent

Doozergirl

leveller2911 wrote: »

I agree with the rest of your post anselld but not the above.

A Conservation officer will look at the current windows and decide (even if they were exact copies of the previous windows) if they are correct to the age of the building. Consider that the previous windows,although may have been there for 50 years or even replaced by a former owner a few years before the current owner replaced them theres no guarantee any of the windows were "right" for the property..

Houses,styles etc change over time and the CO will decide what style of window they want the house to have. The property may be an early Georgian house where over time every window except one is victorian but the CO can decide they want all the new windows to match the single Georgian one. As I posted previously "like for like" means nothing unless its decided by the CO and even then they will want scaled drawings of the proposed windows includes all the moulding details.

The listing of a building preserves it in time at the exact point that it was listed. Every feature is listed. The listing is just as important to show evolution of a building over time as it is to preserve original features. If you have crap early aluminium double glazing in a window, you can have it all again, if it was there at the time of listing.

If a homeowner wants to replace true like for like, the conservation are powerless to force a change, regardless of whether the window is architecturally correct for the original house. It may well be that conversations ensue where the opinions of the conservation officer suit the home owner and something more appropriate to the CO is acceptable to everyone and that is what occurs.

If there are plastic rainwater goods on a building at the time of listing, that is listed. The homeowner can replace with identical plastic in perpetuity. The conservation officer may want to see cast iron, but it is expensive, heavy and prone to leak. It is ultimately up to the homeowner whether they agree to change or carry on as is. There is then the capacity for compromise if the homeowner can keep a level negotiating ground.

True like for like isn't going to be anywhere near as contentious as a complete change - even an ugly one replaced with something more 'correct'.

G_M

barbaraemmerson wrote: »

We are currently getting our daughters windows repaired - a grade 2 listed building in a conservation area. If we are doing exactly like for like we do not need planning permission -

But surely Planning Permission is not the same as Listed Building consent?

(and yes, leveller, it's not 'conscent'. You work in this field...?)

Doozergirl

barbaraemmerson wrote: »

We are currently getting our daughters windows repaired - a grade 2 listed building in a conservation area. If we are doing exactly like for like we do not need planning permission - if we are in any way altering them - i.e. putting in double glazing then we do - even if they look the same from the road - and she is on the fifth floor! Her windows are side hinged opening but originally they were sash and case - if we wish to put them back to the original sash and case then we need permission - crazy! We have opted to get them repaired - much easier!!
It also depends what rules were in place when the windows were altered!

The key word here is 'repair'. You do not need LBC to repair a window, even when the repair is pretty extensive.

G_M is right as well though, PP and LBC are not the same. Works on a Listed Building can need both or just LBC.

Edit: point here to the OP, actually. An extensive repair can look like a brand new window. A genuine like for like and an extensive repair could feasibly look identical.

davidmcn

leveller2911 wrote: »

Work carried out to a Listed Property will require Listed Planning Conscent. The Conservation officers at the local Authority will decide if they want the windows to be repaired, replaced "like for like" or even allow the replacing of the windows but with double glazed units. The replacing "Like for like" without Listed conscent is incorrect ,it doesn't exist.

Do you have a citation for that? All I can see in the legislation is a requirement for consent for demolition, alteration or extension.

sparkly_sun

Would indemnity insurance cover this the window problem?

Ive just read this article http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/legal-qa/can-we-apply-restrospective-building-consent but was previously under the impression that indemnity insurance wasn't really worth the paper it was written on.

maud1880

I used to own a listed building.
It was a house in a terrace where only the front of the buildings were listed. Some alterations, such as new doors, were quite different to the original ones and had maybe been replaced before the area was listed.
The front door, being 150 years old, needed replacing and was not a standard size.
I got a quote to make a new door for £2,000 but then discovered I could buy an almost identical reclaimed one much more cheaply.
I contacted my council who told me that any new door had to be identical which I took to mean that replacing the old door with an identical one was OK.
I went ahead and had a new door made by a carpentef.
I later discovered that I should have applied for plaaning permission to replace the doo, waited in fear and trembling for a while, but fortunately nothing came of it.
I would be very careful in buying a listed building again and would never think about buying one which was listed inside.

phoebe1989seb

maud1880 wrote: »

and would never think about buying one which was listed inside.

A common misconception......a listing covers the whole house, inside and out

t0rt0ise

Listing does cover the whole house but for some, including the house I live in, the entry says that the interior has not been inspected so they don't have any record of what is original and what is not of the inside of the house.

sparkly_sun

This is unfortunately still rumbling on. My solicitor has asked for proof of LBC and of course this doesn't exist. They sellers could apply retrospectively but I think it's highly unlikely that they will stay put for 6 weeks while this is sorted.

I spoke to a planning officer at the council today who suggested that a civil agreement could be drawn up by both parties so that once I moved in and applied for retrospective LBC any works that had to be done to return the property to an acceptable state (and hopefully this would not have to happen anyway) would be covered by the sellers. Does this sound like a viable option?

leveller2911

sparkly_sun wrote: »

I spoke to a planning officer at the council today who suggested that a civil agreement could be drawn up by both parties so that once I moved in and applied for retrospective LBC any works that had to be done to return the property to an acceptable state (and hopefully this would not have to happen anyway) would be covered by the sellers. Does this sound like a viable option?

Why didn't you speak to the Conservation officer ?. A planning officer deals with a different aspect of the planning system. With regards to Listed building the Conservation officer is the person you need to speak too, not a planning officer or a building control officer.

If you want an accurate answer from the person who's opinion really counts then speak to the CO.