Listed buildings are beautiful pieces of our unique heritage, but they can often leave you feeling like you’re living in the past. Many believe that listed buildings can’t be modernised or renovated, or that doing so is against the law. If you’re one of these people, you’ll be delighted to know that you can indeed renovate your listed home!
While there are restrictions to ensure historical preservation, with the right planning permissions and guidance you can have the home of your dreams. From sustainability upgrades to carefully planned extensions, GRK Architecture will design your forever home balancing the preservation of its history with spaces that work for modern living.
What is a Listed Building?
A listed building is a building, object, or structure that has been judged to be of national importance in terms of architectural or historical interest. Buildings are listed to protect the physical evidence of our past which are valued and protected as part of our cultural heritage and sense of identity.
The term ‘listed building’ includes:
- The building itself,
- Any object or structure fixed to it (staircases, chimneys, wall panelling, internal fitted cupboards etc.),
- Any object or structure that has been within the curtilage (boarder) of the building since 1948.
Do Listed Buildings Have Any Permitted Development Rights?
Surprisingly, yes, although extremely limited. Sustainability measures necessary for modern living such as ground-source or water-source heating pumps are covered by permitted development. It is, however, advisable that you apply for a lawful development certificate to verify this before carrying out any work.
You will also need Listed Building Consent as you would with a planning application.
Planning Permission for Listed Buildings
Most developments to listed buildings that would affect the character of the building, including extensions, external alterations, and even internal reconfigurations, will likely require Full or Householder planning permission. Even erecting a boundary wall or fence around a listed building will need planning permission.
Demolition of a listed building will definitely need planning permission.
You will also need to apply for Listed Building Consent before any work is started on your home. This consent may be granted subject to certain conditions like:
- The preservation of particular features of the building – either remaining as part of the building or being kept and preserved after removal.
- Making good any damage caused to the building by the works, after the work is done.
- Reconstruction of the building or parts of it following the proposed works, using the original materials as far as possible, and any alterations within the building as stipulated by the conditions.
Planning approval and Listed Building Consent usually take around 8 weeks to be granted so it’s often a wise move to apply for both in tandem for the most efficient results.
Listed building consent cannot be acquired retrospectively – it is a criminal offence to start development without consent.
Importance of Professional Support and Expertise
When it comes to getting planning approval, the process can be challenging especially when it comes to renovating or extending a listed building. Alongside your Listed Building Consent, your planning application also requires you to provide a site plan, location plan, design and access statement, and a heritage assessment.
A design and access statement is a short report explaining how the proposal for your new home extension or renovation is suitable for the property and its surroundings. This should cover elements like how the new addition will look (materials, size etc), how it fits with the surroundings, and how the building will be accessed.
Heritage assessments include:
- Details of listed building grading (you can find this in the National Heritage List for England)
- Detailed description of the proposed works, including details of the parts of the building likely to be affected.
- A statement of the applicant’s interest (ownership, tenancy etc) in the listed building and any interest of any other person.
With such detailed information required, its easy to get overwhelmed by the whole process but GRK Architecture have the expert knowledge of planning applications to support you at every step and can produce the additional documents on your behalf.
If your proposal is for a larger development GRK will also work with conservation or heritage specialists to conduct the heritage assessment for your listed home.
Collaboration with an experienced architect like GRK will ensure a smoother ride towards your dream home – we will handle the hurdles and challenges of obtaining planning approval so you don’t have to!
Renovate Your Listed Home with GRK Today
Just because your home is listed doesn’t mean you have to stay living in the past. If you’re searching for a listed building architect to design your forever home, GRK is here to bring your visions to life while cutting out the hassle.
