ASK THE EXPERT
Listed building or conservation area?
Make sure you know the difference
A
conservation area is generally defined by the
town council as an area of particular
architectural or historic merit, and are
typically the older parts of a town, perhaps
the town centre or the area surrounding the village
green.
Purchasing or owning a property within a
conservation area may not be apparent until you
decide to make some alterations to the property.
You may find that the permitted development
rights currently enjoyed by property owners outside
a conservation area are none existent.
Making a simple house planning application for
an extension within a conservation area also
involves the submission of additional information
and documentation.
There is likely to be
restrictions on the use of materials, such as the use
of stone or slate, timber windows or any other
restriction peculiar to the area to preserve the
character of the area. Simply changing the
windows without permission and using a different
style may result in a visit from the planning
enforcement officer and receiving a stop order to
cease all work. You may be required to replace the
new windows, with a like for like replacement or
the original style, conversely the style of the
windows previously installed may not have been in
keeping with the surrounding area and may have
been installed before the council gave the
conservation designation.
Having a property in a conservation area doesn’t
mean that you cannot make alterations, it’s just
that any application will be looked at carefully by
the local authority to ensure the proposal will either
enhance or preserve the local character and
appearance of the area. Proposals must be sensibly
designed and justified within the context of the
conservation area and carefully presented to the
Planning and Conservation officers.
Listed buildings are categorised for their special
architectural or historic interest. The building itself
does not need to be located within a conservation
area, in fact they could be located within a
reasonably recent development area.
You will need to obtain Listed Building Consent
if you want to alter or extend a listed building which
would affect the character of the building. Repairs
and maintenance to a Listed building can generally
be carried out on a ‘like for like’ basis, it is
recommended strongly to check with the
Conservation officer as to what constitutes as like
for like repairs. It is advised before embarking on
carrying out such repairs, you take a photographic
record of the existing condition and a series of
photographs during the process to confirm that the
materials and details used to carry out the repairs
or maintenance are the same as the original
construction. For example a sliding sash window
originally built around 1800’s would have very fine
timber glazing bars only ½ to ¾ inch wide, a more
recently built window would have glazing bars at
least twice this thickness, which alters the character
and appearance of the window and the building
quite significantly.
The listing of the building can include the
structure and any part of the building, it is
commonly the buildings exterior but it may include
a particularly fine example of a staircase, fireplace,
floor tiles, decorative ceilings, or other historically
important man-made object or structure. It is
always best to check with the local authority
conservation department what is part of the listing.
It is a criminal offence to carry out any work to
a Listed Building without obtaining consent and
can carry a penalty of up to 2 years in prison, in
addition to the cost of restoring the building back to
its former state.
Article supplied by
Andrew Dukesell
DBD Architectural
Consultancy
01538 383 118
[email protected]
www.dbdconsultants.co.uk
Leek Life November/December 2013 45