Historic Buildings and Conservation Areas

We assist owners and developers in gaining permission to refurbish, alter and extend listed buildings.

Our experienced advice is based on careful historic analysis of standing fabric, assessment of its value and degree of alteration. We apply that understanding practically, assisting in the evolution of a design that meets both an owner’s objectives and statutory requirements.

• Achieving consent involves us in discussions with councils and Historic England officers which requires skill on the risks inherent where professional judgments vary.
• After consent, we are often retained to work on the development stage, advising on the discharge of conditions or variations to consents or equally reviewing extant consents and formulating new applications.

Experience

• Advising on pre-purchase due diligence, establishing whether existing works are unlawful and/or enforcement resolution for consent.
• For new developments in conservation areas, advising on appropriate design responses to infill sites and understanding restrictions for demolition.
• Advising on the scope for redevelopment through analysis of an existing building or by formulating options testing to consider an acceptable level of change.
• Formulating policy-compliant justifications and ascertaining what work can be done without the need for planning permission.
• Establish whether previous consents have been lawfully implemented, providing a basis for a planning strategy that builds on those principles.