Is a Fee Payable to Obtain Listed Building Consent?
When our team embarks on a refurbishment or alterations to a Listed Building our clients generally ask about what fees are involved … Here we explain how Listed Building Consent is obtained.
Why Buy a Listed Home?
Clients who have purchased Listed buildings, usually Grade II or Grade II* Listed, are aware of the implications of owning a Listed home, and may actively have sought Listed properties for their investment. Reasons may be varied, from an appreciation of the historical importance of the building itself to the knowledge that their future home, especially if it is part of a Listed terrace or in a square with other Listed buildings, is highly unlikely to fall victim to major changes or inappropriate modernisation. That’s not to say that a Listed home should exist without contemporary advantages, including smart controls, eco-conscious heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or eco-friendly glazing. However, a Listed home has an element of protection because of its very status, and future upgrades or improvements will be allowed (or not) by the legal necessity of attaining Listed Building Consent for significant alterations. As architects, our role is to ensure that any proposed changes, such as a ground-floor extension, a basement improvement or the addition of a kitchen or extra bathrooms, will be appropriate to the Listed status of the home and will be awarded ‘Listed Building Consent’ by the relevant Local Authority.
What Fees are Involved …
It is important to know that Listed Building Consent for a Listed Building is required in addition to the usual Planning Permission needed for major alterations, additions or extensions. Planning Permission will be required for various projects that fall outside the scope of Permitted Development. It is also considered a serious offence to carry out alterations to a Listed building before the required Listed Building Consent is awarded, hence the importance of the involvement of an experienced architectural team. Our team members will be aware of updates or changes to legislation regarding both Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent, and he or she is likely to have prior or ongoing contact with the Local Authority regarding such matters. The Government’s Planning Portal has some useful guidelines here regarding PP and LBC. There is no fee for an application for LBC payable to the Authority, although the work done by your architect to present the application will be included in their fees for the project. There are fees for Planning Permission applications, which may vary depending upon which type of application it is. Experienced architects are able to give their clients plenty of detailed information regarding the outline costs of preparing for an application for Listed Building Consent and also, of course, to guide them through the process of what will and will not be acceptable regarding changes and refurbishment to a Listed home.
The Importance of a Listed Home
One way to view the relevance and importance of a Listed home is to think of it as looking after and preserving the historical interest and significance of the home or building for future generations to appreciate. As we’ve already mentioned, that does not mean the interior of the home has to be stuck in a time-warp, but it does mean that significant features must be retained and maintained. Listed Building Consent is crucial to ensuring that such homes are kept in good condition, whilst at the same time monitoring additional works such as perhaps the development of an outdoor terrace, the addition of French windows or a kitchen extension. The existence of Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent is there to protect our heritage buildings, and our Architectural teams will ensure that our clients’ refurbishment, development and alteration projects run smoothly and obtain the desired outcome.