Are there any Conservation Officers in here?
Discussion
From my experience, these things are very 'location specific', especially where marginal decisions become very subjective.
One thing to note, and I'm sure that's why you're asking, is that the liability for any breaches passes to the new owner so always best to check. Is the concern related to works which have been done to the property without Listed Building consent, or Consented works which were not correctly completed?
One thing to note, and I'm sure that's why you're asking, is that the liability for any breaches passes to the new owner so always best to check. Is the concern related to works which have been done to the property without Listed Building consent, or Consented works which were not correctly completed?
S5PJV said:
I just wondered in the real world. Do they often serve notices on genuine new owners.
What grade is the listing, and does the listing mention any specific elements to be retained? Listed Building status covers the whole property and not just specific features, but if the listing mentions historically important fire places... which the precious owner has ripped out that may be something they will be interested in. If the property is only Grade 2 listed, and that is due to the general external appearance, if the works are internal only most Conservation Officers would take a more relaxed view IMHO.Before you complete on the purchase, now is the time to ask the vendors estate to seek clarification from the planners if you has such concerns.
It is a Grade 2*
The listing mentions a stone staircase although probably not in its original position. But it also says Interior not seen but reported to be. Maybe that is my get out.
There is clearly no stone staircase.
The listing is from the early 60s.
I would say the current stairs are less than 20 years old.
The listing mentions a stone staircase although probably not in its original position. But it also says Interior not seen but reported to be. Maybe that is my get out.
There is clearly no stone staircase.
The listing is from the early 60s.
I would say the current stairs are less than 20 years old.
syl said:
Does anyone know what it used to look like internally?
Probably not, although from the later notes from the OP, the official listing includes a reference to a stone staircase which no longer exists. If the OP buys the property and then later tries to seek approval for alterations, any visiting Conservation Officer who notes that the stone stair is missing may initiate a prosecution.OP, the best advice is to discuss this with your solicitor with a view to pushing this back onto the vendor. Treat it the same as any other alterations completed without Local Authority Approval.
Out of interest how could they possibly prosecute a new owner ? That would be like buying a car and finding out 3 years later it ran someone over in a hit and run and you are getting 9 points and a suspended sentence.
I have a mate that lives in a 2* house , it’s part of an old farm and all the buildings are listed , every owner has fitted UPVC windows , and not expensive matching ones just the standard white ones. They all claim no one gives a s
t and there is no preservation officer that deals with them so they do what they like.
I have a mate that lives in a 2* house , it’s part of an old farm and all the buildings are listed , every owner has fitted UPVC windows , and not expensive matching ones just the standard white ones. They all claim no one gives a s
t and there is no preservation officer that deals with them so they do what they like. I've read they can only prosecute the person responsible for doing it.
But they can slap an order on anyone who owns the place to restore it to it's previous state. No matter how many years. There is no time limit.
I guess that's the thing.
This one is part of an old farm estate and i wonder how many locals followed the rules.
Maybe I'm being over cautious.
But we will want to carry out works ourselves and I'd be st scared of them coming round.
But they can slap an order on anyone who owns the place to restore it to it's previous state. No matter how many years. There is no time limit.
I guess that's the thing.
This one is part of an old farm estate and i wonder how many locals followed the rules.
Maybe I'm being over cautious.
But we will want to carry out works ourselves and I'd be s
t scared of them coming round.I have had dealings with local conservation and planning for a listed building . A few years ago they gave good advice , reply to questions the officers where interested in the buildings its history etc. Times have changed and its become a real nightmare they want to charge for everything , trying to get info from the conservation officers is hard work as they all seem to have minders to protect them from the public . Unless it is clearly something that needs listed consent I usually take a few photos and mail them before I start . One problem is the permitted development that none listed houses have may or may not need listed consent for the same work . Being straight with them always helps . Mine is listed and also in a conservation area so its a double whammy .
The most simple thing to do is to contact the responsible conservation officer directly and ask them. If contacted directly out of the blue and with appropriate courtesy, they are usually very responsive and will often provide plenty of advice. If you ask them to do so, most will also be more thanhappy to do a site visit at which they can evaluate the current situation and advise appropriately. You’ll find out in a matter of minutes where the lie of the land is and can decide what to do based on that.
In fact, that’s partly how we ended up with our house. The previous couple who were buying the place loved it but wanted to make a lot of changes. They arranged a site visit with the conservation officer, who happily came round and informed them that their plans wouldn’t be approved in a thousand years (having heard what those plans were, we agreed 100% with the conservation officer, by the way!). They pulled out of the sale, the vendors really didn’t want to lose their next place so despite the asking price being well out of our league, they said accept the maximum we could afford which was nearly 20% below the original asking price. It hadn’t been on the market for that long so it could’ve easily sold for a lot more, but somehow we got lucky because the vendors were freaked out with what happened to the original sale.
We still have the same lovely conservation officer and she last came round a few months ago. She was delighted with what we’ve done to the house, gave us her blessing to submit an LBC application for some major works and gave us a written letter to confirm that we didn’t need LBC for a load of other major bits of work.
The moral of that is exactly how I started, contact the responsible conservation officer and ask for a site visit. Worst case scenario is that they will confirm your preexisting fears, best case is you’ll be told all is fine. You have nothing to lose. If the house you’re looking at is within the boundaries of Daventry District Council in Northamptonshire for planning matters, PM me and I will pass on the details of the CO.
In fact, that’s partly how we ended up with our house. The previous couple who were buying the place loved it but wanted to make a lot of changes. They arranged a site visit with the conservation officer, who happily came round and informed them that their plans wouldn’t be approved in a thousand years (having heard what those plans were, we agreed 100% with the conservation officer, by the way!). They pulled out of the sale, the vendors really didn’t want to lose their next place so despite the asking price being well out of our league, they said accept the maximum we could afford which was nearly 20% below the original asking price. It hadn’t been on the market for that long so it could’ve easily sold for a lot more, but somehow we got lucky because the vendors were freaked out with what happened to the original sale.
We still have the same lovely conservation officer and she last came round a few months ago. She was delighted with what we’ve done to the house, gave us her blessing to submit an LBC application for some major works and gave us a written letter to confirm that we didn’t need LBC for a load of other major bits of work.
The moral of that is exactly how I started, contact the responsible conservation officer and ask for a site visit. Worst case scenario is that they will confirm your preexisting fears, best case is you’ll be told all is fine. You have nothing to lose. If the house you’re looking at is within the boundaries of Daventry District Council in Northamptonshire for planning matters, PM me and I will pass on the details of the CO.
QuickQuack said:
The most simple thing to do is to contact the responsible conservation officer directly and ask them. If contacted directly out of the blue and with appropriate courtesy, they are usually very responsive and will often provide plenty of advice. If you ask them to do so, most will also be more thanhappy to do a site visit at which they can evaluate the current situation and advise appropriately. You’ll find out in a matter of minutes where the lie of the land is and can decide what to do based on that.
If you choose to do this, be very careful and do not do so without the agreement of your solicitor.Informing the responsible conservation officer will make it much harder to acquire indemnity insurance should you require it.
mikeveal said:
QuickQuack said:
The most simple thing to do is to contact the responsible conservation officer directly and ask them. If contacted directly out of the blue and with appropriate courtesy, they are usually very responsive and will often provide plenty of advice. If you ask them to do so, most will also be more thanhappy to do a site visit at which they can evaluate the current situation and advise appropriately. You’ll find out in a matter of minutes where the lie of the land is and can decide what to do based on that.
If you choose to do this, be very careful and do not do so without the agreement of your solicitor.Informing the responsible conservation officer will make it much harder to acquire indemnity insurance should you require it.
Haven’t been through this myself, but good friends have. The advice on engaging early with the conservation officers is good - because it can turn into an utter pain in the arse if they are not on side.
Overall, you need to go into it with your eyes really wide open. Our friends biggest issue is the windows, they’re hand blown and very original, so not a gnat’s chance in hell of getting windows that actually work to keep the winter out. Is a lovely house and all that, but for 4 months of the year it is almost uninhabitable due to it being freezing - even with a massive gas boiler going full chat at vast expense.
Overall, you need to go into it with your eyes really wide open. Our friends biggest issue is the windows, they’re hand blown and very original, so not a gnat’s chance in hell of getting windows that actually work to keep the winter out. Is a lovely house and all that, but for 4 months of the year it is almost uninhabitable due to it being freezing - even with a massive gas boiler going full chat at vast expense.
It may not be the major drama you think it is.
I bought a listed (Grade 2) back in 2011, the exterior was neglected but largely original, although they’d put a bunch of upvc windows in the back and ripped out original sash windows.
Internally, original fireplaces had been ripped out in some but not all rooms but I spoke to conservation about it and they were understanding and not out to get you.
They advised that the presence of modern tat like the leader windows was regrettable and that if/when we got around to replacing the windows it would need LBC and they would most likely dictate sash and original style windows went back in.
True to their word, 8 years later and we’re putting in replacement windows for the upvc and they dictated wooden windows, including the colour and hard/softwood materials.
In the time we’ve had the house, I’ve always kept in touch, even vetting like for like repairs to make sure they’re happy.
In my experience, conservation were just pleased that a responsible owner had the house and were understanding of the fact everything costs a lot more to do right, so they don’t expect you to kill yourself repairing years worth of neglect/damage all in one go.
Your mileage may vary and naturally, I may have been lucky and everyone else are aholes but that wasn’t my experience.
Talk to them, understand the building, let them know you understand the building and the commitment a listed building is (Our has cost at least £5k a year in general repair upkeep) and you’ll get on fine. Probably.
I bought a listed (Grade 2) back in 2011, the exterior was neglected but largely original, although they’d put a bunch of upvc windows in the back and ripped out original sash windows.
Internally, original fireplaces had been ripped out in some but not all rooms but I spoke to conservation about it and they were understanding and not out to get you.
They advised that the presence of modern tat like the leader windows was regrettable and that if/when we got around to replacing the windows it would need LBC and they would most likely dictate sash and original style windows went back in.
True to their word, 8 years later and we’re putting in replacement windows for the upvc and they dictated wooden windows, including the colour and hard/softwood materials.
In the time we’ve had the house, I’ve always kept in touch, even vetting like for like repairs to make sure they’re happy.
In my experience, conservation were just pleased that a responsible owner had the house and were understanding of the fact everything costs a lot more to do right, so they don’t expect you to kill yourself repairing years worth of neglect/damage all in one go.
Your mileage may vary and naturally, I may have been lucky and everyone else are a
holes but that wasn’t my experience.Talk to them, understand the building, let them know you understand the building and the commitment a listed building is (Our has cost at least £5k a year in general repair upkeep) and you’ll get on fine. Probably.
rxe said:
Our friends biggest issue is the windows, they’re hand blown and very original, so not a gnat’s chance in hell of getting windows that actually work to keep the winter out. Is a lovely house and all that, but for 4 months of the year it is almost uninhabitable due to it being freezing - even with a massive gas boiler going full chat at vast expense.
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