Grade 2 listed building query

Bluebell1000

I rather like the look of a grade 2 listed building that's for sale locally. Does anyone on here have any experience of how awkward it is to renovate somewhere listed?

We'd ideally want to convert an outbuilding into a holiday let, and use two rooms in the house for B&B, which would involve adding a couple of extra bathrooms.

It has very bad condition single glazed sash windows, timber framed (rotten), and metal guttering hanging off. Presumably it'd probably be a case of like for like replacement (ideally with double glazed sash)?

Feel free to tell me that it would be entirely impractical and a bad idea. Thank you. :rotfl:

Yolina

A lot of it will depend on the Council's conservation people, so they're the ones you really need to ask.

Freecall

Although the situation with every listed building will be different, I really think that you would have an uphill struggle to achieve what you want.

Bear in mind that every small change (or indeed maintenance work beyond the most basic) will require listed building consent from your LPA. Some people struggle to get even small things approved so the major changes you have in mind are unlikely to be straightforward.

Having said that, changes, if deemed appropriate, can be permitted provided they respect the heritage of the building and enhance the overall situation of the heritage asset. Your best bet would be to have an informal chat with the Conservation Officer at your LPA. In my experience they are generally helpful if approached for indicative guidance.

eddddy

And in addition to talking to the conservation department, you'd also need to talk to the planning department.

Converting an outbuilding to a holiday let would almost certainly need planning consent for change of use.

You might also need planning consent for change of use for the 2 B&B rooms - it depends on council's policy and the size of the property.

If it's a 6 bedroom house, and you're only using 2 rooms for B&B - the council may say that isn't classed as a change of use. But if it's a 3 bedroom house, using 2 rooms for B&B might be considered a change of use.

Hoploz

I own a flat in a listed building which was converted directly before I bought it 5 years ago. Therefore although I wasn't involved, I have had sight of some of the paperwork as part of the buying process.

I can say that in the case of my building, they made a lot of changes to the configuration, eg dividing it into flats, as it was appropriate development for the area. However there were many restrictions. Basically anything original had to be retained, whatever the condition was. That meant instead of replacing rotten window frames for example, they had to fill in with new sections. They had to keep the profile identical - there was therefore no way to put double glazing in, as the width of the window timbers was not sufficient for the two panes of glass. Where even parts of features remained, eg an odd window shutter here or there, they had to be retained and new parts made exactly the same so they could be used. We have all the old doors and knobs, the original staircase etc.

Basically everything you think you might want to do has to be given the OK by the conservation officer, you cannot assume you will be allowed to change anything at all, even if it is completely wrecked it must always be retained. Some features even had to be built as replicas eg I have a newly built huge fireplace in my flat, which has been built from modern materials, but had to be in the original style to match the others in the building. It would have been far easier to just plaster over the wall but they had to build it!

Having said all that, we have a beautiful building which looks absolutely lovely. On the downside it's draughty, freezing in winter, prone to condensation and damp etc but that's what you have to expect. You just can't put in the mod cons. Bear this in mind - do you really want to live in a freezing cold beautiful building, or would you really rather have a cosy comfortable modern build!?

Gers

We lived in a grade 2 listed building in Newcastle for over 20 years, it was a conversion from Georgian townhouse to separate flats. Whilst it was done before we moved in the windows were still single-glazed (with some original panes of glass still) but secondary glazing had been installed.

Internal spaces had been re-configured with original features retained, large skirting boards and internal panelling etc.

As others have said, ask your council. Newcastle has a special section for heritage buildings.

booksurr

done any of your own research yet?

planning permission - needed in all instances (along with building reg approval where aplic)
listed building consent - needed for all work to a listed building that involves alterations, extensions or demolition and will affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. Your local authority can help you to determine what the special interest of your home is.

https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/your-home/making-changes-your-property/permission/

you can do energy saving works/improvements, but again only in certain forms:
https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/your-home/saving-energy/

have a read of this if you need a start point:
https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/buying-a-listed-building/

Bluebell1000

eddddy wrote: »

If it's a 6 bedroom house, and you're only using 2 rooms for B&B - the council may say that isn't classed as a change of use. But if it's a 3 bedroom house, using 2 rooms for B&B might be considered a change of use.

Not a bad guess - it is a 6 bed Anyway, thank you to everyone who's replied so far. Lots to think about. We'll need to do some calculations around things like running costs etc, to see if we could reasonably afford running costs without any extra income from the house, so we're still in the very early stages of working out feasibility. We wouldn't want to bother the council unless we were absolutely sure we wanted to make an offer.

barbaraemmerson

RUN A MILE.................bought daughter a flat in a listed building which is also in a conservation area - had a letter from the council about the state of the roof - if we didn't do anything they would 'FIX' it and charge back - unlimited chequebook! It took TWO years, thousands of emails, thousands of pounds, an architectural technician - everything and I mean absolutely everything is difficult - down to the grade 5 Spanish slates that had to be used. Never ever again! We have since had her windows repaired - yep - not allowed to replace them with double glazed units - not allowed to upgrade - had to use the very same windows and an extremely expensive repair................ RUN - Quickly!!

Bluebell1000

Eek Barbara, not a pleasant experience! Hope it's all sorted now.

We've looked at some figures and it'd be a bit tighter on our budget than we feel is comfortable right now. I wouldn't want to take the risk of only having £100 spare each month after paying for renovations (assuming no B&B / letting income), because if anything went wrong we wouldn't have the spare cash to fix it. So I think we will walk away for now, unless we win the lottery