In the UK there are approximately 376,470 listed buildings. 11,000 of these are within Westminster and nearly 400 in Kensington and Chelsea. It is a privilege to own a listed building, and this privilege should not be forgotten when the time comes to carry out repairs. Professional listed building builders should be used at all times. Bristol Builders Network can put you in touch with these experts, ensuring your repairs are both of the highest standard as well as fully legal.
Listed Building Builders : Building Consent
One very grey area when it comes to repairing your listed home is whether you will need consent or not. You may be surprised that you do, or do not need it, depending on the job that needs to be done. When you enlist a professional team, they will ensure that consent is applied for when necessary. There are many listed buildings that have had work carried out on them unlawfully, the situation of non-compliance only coming to a head when the owner tries to sell on the property.
You may be surprised to learn that replacing rotten floorboards will often require consent, as will installing air conditioning in your home. Whether or not you need consent or not depends on whether the intended changes would affect the character of the building and its historic interest. Carrying out work without consent can lead to prosecution, and a maximum punishable sentence is 2 years imprisonment. When you use the services of listed building builders, this is a worry that you can forget about!
Common Myths About Listed Buildings
There are many myths surrounding listed buildings and their repair. It is certainly not true that you only need to apply for consent for external repairs. As mentioned above, replacing rotten floorboards even require consent. Another myth is that the front of your home is listed and not the rear elevation; your whole building is listed, inside and out, and back and front.
If you wish to remove something from your listed building, such as a fireplace, you may refer to the listing description. If you cannot find the item you are looking for, then you can simply go ahead without consent. Once again, no, you can’t. This is a myth. The listing description for your home actually has no formal status. Finally, just because your build is only Grade 2 listed, not Grade 1, does not mean that is has a lower level of protection.
The vast majority of problems you may incur when carrying out repairs to your listed building can be avoided by calling in the experts. A normal builder is neither trained nor knowledgeable enough to carry out works to a listed building. So, allow BBN to pair you up with listed building builders that you can rely on for all your building and repair work. From removing an ugly extension to repairing your garden wall, our listed building contractors have the knowledge and experience to ensure the job is done to the very highest of standards the first time.