Do I need permission? will I get it? can they refuse?

[sarahj]

hi there,

We moved into our small G2 listed stone cottage in december. I love it here, very cosy but sitting room is incredibly dark - even midsummer we have all the lights on (albeit eco bulbs). Since before we moved I wanted to put another window in the front - it would balance visually as there is a door on the left, a window in the middle and nothing on the right.

However CO/National parks man said no as it was a good example of a small cottage in the national park.

Now however, we are having the front and gable end repointed with lime (much cement mortar being manually removed) and cast iron guttering to replace faded grey/brown/black round/square guttering! This has really highlighted the stonework to such an extent that it is obvious that there was once a window exactly where I wanted one put - the are three rows of stone vertically aligned and the width of the infill is identical to the other window.

So, now where do I stand - does this mean that I have full rghts to reopen the window, or are they less likely to object or what? Did I read somewhere that if there was one before I can restore it anyway/ Some ideas please as our co/national parks man tends to give you his personal opinion without telling you what the actual rules are.

Thank you.

 

[middi]

There isn't any rules Sarahj, just interpretation and guidelines as far as listed buildings are concerned.

It goes with the territory that these nostalgic old cottages were not very well lit and this is part of its charm, you can improve it with judicious internal design and arrangements which I am useless at.

I personally would invite the CO to visit and discuss the blocked up window opening which I had found, and diplomatically implore him/her to have it reinstated.

I would not be very surprised if the suggestion is that this blocked up opening is also part of the history and should remain so.

Good luck

 

[Carol]

Has CO seen the house since the improvements began? Invite him/her round and discuss your conservation interests, what you have found etc and then casually show your 'old/new' window. You may be able to say this was clearly original and then see if his/her mind can be changed. As I've posted before, chocolate biscuits and coffee also work well on CO's! And don't give up.

 

[BMcD]

Middi and Carol are offering excellent advice, keeping the CO happy is crucial as they can make life difficult should they so wish. However, I may be wrong and I'm sure there are people who know better than I but I think you can appeal against a CO's decission to English Heritage and they will have the final say but this shold be your last resort as it may rub your CO up the wrong way and as I say they can make life difficult especialy for future restoration

 

[GK]

.... I think you can appeal against a CO's decission to English Heritage and they will have the final say ....

You can appeal against the decision of an actual application, but not just an opinion, or an "I'll resist that" remark. English Heritage wouldn't get involved with a GII building. The decision is with the Local Authority, which is as good as saying it's the CO.

Does the window bricking up pre-date the listing? If it doesn't, you could presumably reverse an illegal alteration. A bit of a long shot, really, but if it turns out the window was bricked up without consent there could well be other stuff that you might be responsible for re-instating...

 

[BMcD]

There you are I knew someone would know

 

[sarahj]

The old window (and another two in the main bedroom) was filled up a long time ago. However, this is one of those little cottages that was tacked on to the end of a larger house, and has undergone many alterations since. We think it might have been a workshop originally, and that the little bedroom window was put in when the upstairs room was partitioned, and that at the same time two others in the main bedroom were filled in as well as the downstairs one. The window currently existing in the middle downstairs looks odd as the stone buts vertically down the right hand side right down to ground level (but not at the foudations) just like a doorway would, but not on the left hand side.

As for being part of the history - who says we have to draw a line and history stops? - opening the window up again I think is just as valid a part of its history - it was a holiday cottage for 25 years when low light levels didn't matter - and now it is a family home again where I am at home all day with my small children and it really does matter. By the way, the window is 2' by 3' for a sitting room that is 14' 7 by 18' with 2 1/2 ft walls.

I will certainly take your advice and invite the CO round and show her our nice new lime pointing and cast iron gutters, hopefully showing her that we are serious about keeping the character and integrity of the property.

we also want to restore our stone inglenook coated with cement render - any suggestions as to how we can do this without destroying the stone underneath - it was rendered in 1980?

 

[middi]

Sarahj, I am probably right in thinking that everybody agrees that you using traditional materials and looking after a piece of histoty is your aim. What would sound contradictive to a CO is the fact that you want to make changes to the cottage because it does not totally conform to your needs or the needs of your family.

The basic idea is that you adapt to live within an Historic building and not adapt the building to serve your purpose. Apart from the essentials of everybody's needs, which vary considerably amongst individuals, any other aspect of adaptaton and change to the fabric and aesthetic looks of the building is for the interpretation of the CO.

Using the argument that there is insufficient natural light coming into the rooms does not mean that you have to have more windows or larger windows.

It may sound argumentative but if you make tactical mistakes with the CO and get his back up, you will never get your windows.

Ask the CO to have a look, and then ask him/her how can he/she assist in getting more light into the rooms, explain your predicament and ask them to make a decision. The chances are that they may say you might as well fit another window in the old opening. Don't force the issue as to what is best for you, they are mainly concerned with the building and the fabric.

History never stops, I agree, unfortunately it does stop when it comes to acient building and CO interpretation to certain alteration and their fabric destruction.

It is a long winded argument I am afraid.

Good luck.