Conserve and prosper?

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You have had the condition survey and now find yourself here. I suspect this means that you are trying to find out why I have referred you to visit these pages.

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Living in a Listed Building or within a Conservation Area is not like living anywhere else. In essence you have a higher duty of care for the building because inaction could lead to the Local Authority servicing Notice on you to do certain works and in default they could do the work and then charge you!

Therefore you need to understand what you are taking on: you need to understand how the building has changed because any non-conforming former works could also be the subject of such Notifications (even though they had nothing to do with you).

Therefore not only should you check the wording of any Listing (why it is Listed and considered to be important) but also the full history of Building Control Approvals and if you think other works have been done, such as relocating the boiler and its flue (which require formal Approval), then talk to your legal adviser straight away for advice (Surveyors will not be able to identify all works of alteration completed in any given period).

The argument goes that the Local Authority are seeking to keep the street scene, and your home, intact to preserve our built-environment, our heritage. This may also protect the value of your investment.

Others say it is an unnecessary restriction on change, innovation and energy conservation and therefore can suppress value.

What is certain is that you must take your duties seriously. In the context of why you may have been referred to read these notes this often means you have to do some repairs or renewals and must not fall foul of Regulations (or historic breaches).

In may sound obvious but further matters of concern relate to higher costs associated with such buildings and the possible problem of lack of skills by many Contractors (eg – they do not know how to make/use lime mortars – Portland Cements should not be used in important Period buildings).

The status of the building you are buying may limit the manner in which you can alter and maintain it. This may affect the manner in which you can achieve your dream environment. These factors may also affect the value of the building to you alone, as opposed to traditional market value – that value the market will throw up due to reasonable marketing methods.

What you need to define is a list of Contractors that can achieve your dream-state-home whilst not falling foul of Conservation or Listing regulations. As a starting point some of the Contractors listed here (see our LINKS tab and scroll to PROPERTY HELP) will be able to complete certain aspects of your needs but you must stress to any such person of the need to complete works in a compliant fashion and that it that persons duty to ensure this is so.

The rule of thumb in any Period Home is to complete maintenance pro-actively: a little and often. Get into this mindset, a new routine, and it is pay dividends over time because you are protecting your investment and our collective heritage.

Period buildings often need to breathe – so you cannot exclude all water and would be ill-advised to clad slim walls with a dense rendering.

Period building walls were constructed with lime mortar between the bricks – always used a compatible mortar mix: soft and line-based (never use Portland cement – a common mistake).

Period building kitchen solid floors damp proof membrane is often the floor tiling alone. Provided this room is well vented, what is wrong with this situation? It works despite being below current Building Control standards.

Some forms of construction may be considered inherently weak, even sub-standard, but they have performed for perhaps hundreds of years and so why should you destroy a critical balance by insisting on a higher standard.

Wattle-and-daub partitions, lath-and-plaster ceilings etc… can contain anthrax spores from the horse-hair interwoven into the mortar mix as a binder: it worked well for 100′s of year and then you come along and start breaking into such surfaces without taking serious Health & Safety precautions. So, sometimes conservation issues can help you avoid dramatic consequences.

Bats in the roof? Remember they are a protected species and you cannot disturb them at all during the breeding season. Your Local Authority will have details of local specialists who can come out and advise you about when and how Contractors could safely and legally go in to do works.

Often our survey report comments are in direct conflict with the desires of our clients. Let’s not pull our punches: someone has to compromise and it can be either party. Sometimes the local Conservation Officer will need to be met to have a discussion on what he will find allowable on your dream home. Indeed this step, meeting the local Conservation Officer is the required “next step” after receipt of your Condition Report from PROinspect.

At that stage you will be able to identify practicalities in relation to known condition issues and the “how” of what method of repair is most appropriate to each problem. This is invaluable to your quest to get refurbishment estimates after which you may be able to renegotiate the purchase price?

Another pearl of wisdom is that you should not assume anything. You could be committing a criminal offence without even knowing it and your Builder could be said to be colluding in that offence.

LINKS

The main UK reference site is ENGLISH HERITAGE and here the starting point for any query – http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.1062

Planning issues are often at the heart of problems and releasing potential within Listed Buildings. This site is a very good planning reference resource – http://www.planning-applications.co.uk/page1.htm

Another great site for our Heritage is http://www.heritage.co.uk/apavilions/glstb.html

This site speaks of your “permitted development rights” – http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/public/buildingwork/responsibilities/workresppp/workresppppermitteddev/

This site updates you on certain issues that fall under development control in such buildings – http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/changesdevelopmentconsultation

No listing would be complete without something from the excellent Hampshire County Council website: as an example try out this PDF Leaflet download – http://www3.hants.gov.uk/listed_buildings.pdf