Opening up a bricked up window - who to ask

[Bitstreams]

As part of the ongoing work on our dining room we're toying with the idea of reopening a bricked up window to get a bit more light in to the room. The house is c1840 and not listed though we are in a conservation area.

The walls are stone and the ex-window is brick.

Since the window faces the road I'm guessing we'd need approval to open it up again - but what sort of approval - proper planning permission or something less formal?

Simon

 

[MdB]

In a very non expert view, I think you can reopen it without planning. As it is in a conservation area, it will probably have to match the others in the house but then again you would be mad not to do this anyway. There might be an issue with Building Control if the others are single glazed though..

The best thing to do is go an have an informal chat with the planning department. They will very quickly let you know what paper work is required / who you need to inform.

 

[biffvernon]

The alternative is just to go ahead and do it without consulting anybody and see how long it takes for anyone to notice. :wink:

 

[FamilyWiggs]

I'm with Biff.

We spend far too much time in our lives worrying about who we need to ask permission from. It's your window, it's original. It's not listed. What's it got to do with anyone else?

(This is not an bid to start a thread about the risks of retrospective planning, respect for listed building conservation, etc) 8) 8) 8)

 

[skier-hughes]

The problem being it could be expensive as it's a conservation area and if not done correctly it may be that it is forced to be changed.
When I opened up my brick window I asked the conservation officer for advice, which he freely gave.
Mine's not listed, not ina conservation area, building control wanted to make sure it met there demands!!!

 

[Nemesis]

I'd give your conservation officer a ring. While 'partial demolition' in a conservation area without permission, following the Shimizu judgment, is still a tricky area, there is 'opinion' with regard to that which could mean that you could still fall foul of the planning authority if you simply go ahead.

Additionally, any new window will in general have to comply with current legislation, but there may be other controls in place for the conservation area to state the type of window which can be put there. You need to check that with the local authority also. So yes it may have to do with other people, and in some cases opening up a blocked window may have to do with neighbours too, if they are suddenly losing some privacy.

On a practical note, when the window was bricked up there may have been some removal of a lintel, if there was a timber one internally; the brickwork could, in theory, be giving some support to the wall. If a new one has to be installed that will need to comply with building regs too.

 

[Penners]

I agree with Nemesis. An informal question to your CO and building inspector would be the best plan. They'll give you guidance on whether they want any kind of formal application.

Then your backside is covered.

 

[MdB]

Opening up an old window would be completely non contentious I would have thought. I can't see why anyone would object. At work, we wanted to put a new window into the wall of industrial building which overlooked some houses to a certain extent. We spoke to planning and they sent us a letter to say we didn't need any. Very easy to do and it saved arguments later.

 

[Nemesis]

I'd talk to the CO first - that way, it can be checked if he/she thinks that it's OK (can't see why not but it all depends on a number of factors in a conservation area) and see what sort of window will be acceptable.

There may not be any wider controls adopted for the particular conservation area, but there also might be.

You may or may not have to fully comply with Part L. You may or may not find that the wndow is not only bricked up but is carrying out a wider function and a new lintel will be required. That will involve building control and should comply with regs and have the relevant paperwork. (That's not the same as planning permission.)

When a neighbour of ours in a previous house wanted to put a window in to a landing, he applied for permission as the house wall was also our boundary.

When he was given permission, the glass had to be obscured so that there was no direct view into our garden, yard and back door. I appreciate that this window to potentially be unblocked looks onto the public road, but all cases are not the same.

 

[andrew gayton]

Aside from the above..............

............Is the opening one that was blocked up following the removal of a window, or was it built 'blind' as part of the design of the facade?

 

[Nemesis]

And even painted to look like a window... as many were.

One of those has been given permission in my locality to be 'unblocked', and a historic shopfront taken out and replaced with a double sash. Sad. But that's Tynedale for you...

 

[andrew gayton]

see the middle window of the 1st floor of my house on the cpre link that you posted earlier............!

 

[Nemesis]

Exactly - to make it look like a regular facade, when behind it is - what exactly?

http://cprenorfolk.org.uk/awards/winners_2007.html

Cottage Restoration (or even gentle repair... 8) ) Shipdham

Window tax, architectural needs, even changing interiors can mean a blocked up window. At Wallington Hall in Northumberland there are real windows which are only visible from the exterior, blocked with wooden panelling.


There's a house in Appleby in Westmorland which had the render removed, and it exposed earlier, smaller blocked up windows. The house had been 'gentrified' later with sashes, to 'update'.

 

[andrew gayton]

........... behind the blind window? a stud partition dividing 2 rooms. When I stripped the cement pointing and plastic paint to repoint and redecorate in lime mortar* and limewash**, I found the previous painting out of the blind window so as to replicate the adjacant casements; it just needed to be 'refreshed'........... all to the amusement of passers-by (one old boy suggested that I paint a 'young lady' preparing to retire............ :shock:

* 1:2 non hydraulic hydrated lime and very sharp sand.
** non hydraulic hydrated lime, water and raw linseed oil

 

[Nemesis]

We found a blocked up window when we removed some creepers from a wall.

It was in a slightly odd place, and is quite small. but it was in lime mortar and we can only speculate when it was blocked and why.

It was in an alcove next to a chimney in what was once the 'parlour'. It may have been blocked when the house was extended in the 19th century.

There is a path which it would have looked out onto, going up hill; it would have given a good view of those approaching.

We have put a new window in to another room though; it transformed it, giving a view to the garden, bringing in light and sunshine. In the two centuries since the house was built, trees have grown up around, and altered the light, so the room was very dark.

It all so much depends on individual buildings and their history, doesn't it? As long as things are done with care and thought - at times alterations can be useful, at others they can destroy history.

 

[Bitstreams]

Followup:

Conservation Officer was very nice and helpful, though she started by saying that the rules had been changed so much recently that she was struggling to keep up. She says because the window is downstairs and house is not listed that there is no requirement for consent. I can also single-glaze and it doesn't need to open (requirement may well be different if it was an upstairs window).

She suggested I send a short letter in to planning office to say what I'm doing - just to be on the safe side - which I'll do as I am going to need to put a lintel in.

Simon

 

[biffvernon]

I would expect putting in a lintel is of more interest to building control than planning.
I hope the fee they charge is not more than the cost of the lintel.