LBC Granted But With Conditions

[oldstuff]

A few months back I applied for LBC for renovations to a GII listed house in Cornwall. Basically the whole of the ground floor was wrecked by dry rot and most if not all of the wooden floors and walls have had to be taken down and the remaining timbers treated.

Our conservation officer agreed to these emergency works and at long last it looks like my reinstatement consent has been granted but with conditions (probably these are standard) i.e. the retention of original architraves, skirting boards, mouldings etc which is no problem.

However they have also stated the text below, which looks like a standard practice as it appears on several other applications I checked on the internet. The text reads:

‘No work shall be undertaken until the implementation of an appropriate programme of recording and analysis of architectural features has been agreed in writing by the local planning authority, to be carried out by a specialist acceptable to the local planning authority and in accordance with an agreed written brief and specification.’

My question is what exactly does the above involve?

I assume I will have to hire some kind of historic buildings specialist to check over the building as it is now to record the condition of the remaining features in the areas I plan to renovate? Then they would reassess once the renovation works are completed reporting their findings back to the LA planning department?

Who keeps the record of their findings?

What happens if the LA don’t like what I am doing (unlikely) but can they revoke consent?

Is this not something I could do with my builder (he runs a building restoration company) using detailed photography etc?

I am probably jumping the gun a little here as I have not yet received any paper correspondence from the LA and assume they will provide a list of suitable contractors as I wouldn’t know where to find such experts!

What kind of ball-park figure could I be looking at to have this assessment done and what are the likely time frames involved – it’s a right pain in the proverbial as I want to give my builders the green light and they can’t wait around on planning as they have other jobs on their books.

Any information or details of personal experience would be appreciated and apologies for the 20 questions.

 

[Penners]

It sounds as though the CO simply wants to ensure that whatever is to be destroyed by removal (unavoidable removal, judging by what you have said) is (a) recorded for posterity, and (b) where appropriate is reinstated like-for-like.

I shouldn't be too worried by this. If I were in your shoes, I think my first move would be to give the CO a call and ask him/her what kind of records would be acceptable. You may find that a few hours spent photographing details may be all that is necessary, possibly supplemented by a few scale drawings of certain mouldings, etc.

But it all rather depends on how "important" the house is, and how special are the architectural features.

As I said, I should give the CO a call. The best thing might be to ask him/her to come for a site meeting to have a look at what might be required.

 

[middi]

I totally agree with Penners suggestion about taking (colour ?) photos of everything before you dismantle it. Not only this is a record of existing features it will also help you to reinstate things the way they were if any fabric has to be destroyed to carry out those inevitable repairs.

As long as repairs ( or any alterations) have been agreed in principal, and in writing, you can certainly do them yourself if you have the confidence , after all whoever does the repairs these have to meet a standard that is acceptable from an historic building point of view, the CO point of view and yours.

 

[Stephen]

This is a fairly common condition, especially where they are allowing some loss of historic fabric and they want to have some form of record kept. Without knowing the details of the application and what is involved only a rough guide can be given here.

It may be sufficient for a suitable 'conservation architect' or 'conservation surveyor' to take photographs, do some drawings, etc, etc. However, the phrasing of the condition suggests they are thinking more along the lines of an archaeologist/architectural historian.

I suggest you have a chat with them to see what they are thinking of and perhaps get a list of those in the region that they know do the sort of work they are looking for and would therefore approve.

There are many individuals who undertake this sort of work and are not too expensive (compared to the rest of us professionals!).

If you let us know what part of the country you are in someone may be able to point you in the right direction of a suitable person.

Stephen

 

[Penners]

oldstuff - as you may have inferred, Stephen is a professional in this field.

Middi, too, actually, from a somewhat different direction.

I'm a rank amateur (although it's bath night tonight).

 

[Matt Green]

Basically the whole of the ground floor was wrecked by dry rot and most if not all of the wooden floors and walls have had to be taken down and the remaining timbers treated.

Anyone else feeling twitchy, or is it just me...?