Urgent LBC advice needed

[gothiceye]

OK. Help needed fairly urgently please....

We are looking to make significant alterations to the bathroom in our property since a leak has made it necessary for us to remove the existing shower cubicle and the modern plasterboard wall which seperates the bathroom from the spare bedroom. I emailed the council to check whether such work would require LBC, and found out that moving even modern plasterboard walls will need LBC as it is altering the structure of the property.....

However, we have already needed to make investigative holes in the plasterboard to determine the cause of the leak, and have made another which has revealed the site of the old upper fireplace. Also we have already removed half of the plasterboard wall on the landing, as we thought it would be OK as it wasn't an original feature

Realising our mistake far too late - is there any way that we can apply for retrospective consent for the work we've already done? Will it be allowed or will we have to return the property to its original state?

Am really confused and worried about the implications of this, as I think I read somewhere that it was against the law to make unapproved alterations to your property, I just mistakenly believed, from a dicussion that we had with the conservation officer soon after we moved in (and way before we knew that any of this would take place) that this only affected the original structure.... Any help gratefully received........ :shock:

 

[MdB]

Just a quick note to say stop worrying too much.

Yes, you probably need LBC consent but you had a water leak so needed to find out the cause. You also have only damaged modern materials which can easily be replaced and would not have been the reason why the house was listed in the first place. Finally you are talking about restoring one of the original features. All of this will count in your favour.

Speak to your CO, say sorry and I'm sure that you will come to some sensible way forward. I wouldn't do anymore work until you have spoken to him/her though.

 

[gothiceye]

The plasterboard removal on the landing wasn't due to the water leak tho', it was a completely seperate project (sorry for not making this clear in my earlier post). :shock:

The inspectors are going to visit the house today to discuss things, so I've had to make emergency arrangements for my husband to see them...

 

[gothiceye]

Update... the officer is going to drop some forms in. He hasn't said anything about the landing (although I think, as we haven't technically removed or moved it, only taken out part of it, and therefore not altered its position in the property, it might be OK).

We can remove the shower tray and the wall that has been damaged, then apply for retrospective LBC together with any plans for altering the bathroom which should take 7-8 weeks to clear. He seemed OK with uncovering the fireplace, but was as surprised as us at the amount of plasterboard... but suggested at some point vents should be added to let the original structure breathe.

He did add that the building had been modernised in completely the wrong wat - which we knew - but I think he appreciated the fact that we were trying to sort it out... Hope so anyway...

 

[Nemesis]

Although once listed everything is listed, you only have to apply for LBC for works which will alter the character.

It's a bit of a grey area really, and always best to seek the advice of the CO before doing things which aren't simply like for like repair - in moderation. Stripping back later additions may or may not caiuse problems - it depends on the significance of the additions/alterations.

Sounds like things will be OK.

 

[Penners]

And remember that repairs to a listed building don't need LBC. So if your plasterboard removal on the landing was part of a like-for-like repair programme, you're in the clear.

But as Nemesis said, if you're in any doubt it's always best to check with the CO.

 

[Nemesis]

Well - removal wasn't like for like as it has not been replced.

However, 'repair' doesn't give unlimited rights to replace all historic fabric with new!

 

[Penners]

like-for-like repair

 

[Nemesis]

It wasn't though - as far as I can see it replaced plasterboard with fresh air!

And like for like repair isn't unlimited. Can't rebuild the whole house with new!

This is quite useful, although PPG 15 and Annexe C is well worth reading.

http://www.cla.org.uk/Hot_topics/frequently_asked_heritage_questions/

 

[gothiceye]

thanks for the advice - I'll check out that link.

We've got the goahead to remove the dodgy shower tray and the damaged wall, but nothing else, until we've submitted retrospective LBC for taking these out and told them what we plan to do with the rest of the bathroom...

 

[Moo]

Have you asked the CO for suggestions about the shower tray problem? Ours was very helpful indeed, and came up with an idea (which we adopted) that we wouldn't have dared to propose ourselves for fear of being shot down in flames.

 

[gothiceye]

I don't think so, although I wasn't there for the actual discussion (I had to hastily organise the meeting with my husband while I was at work), but I think he is aware of our current idea of moving it to the other side of the bathroom - what sort of suggestions did he make to you?

 

[Moo]

It was a she, actually, and our problem wasn't so much moving something as working out where to shoe-horn in some basic sanitation (bath or shower + loo, etc).

We could have partitioned off the landing, but that would have reduced the bedroom (attic) floor to a warren of little corridors. Instead she suggested partitioning off a chunk of the biggest bedroom to make a couple of small shower rooms, which meant changing the position of walls and doors. Quite drastic, really, but it works a treat.

 

[gothiceye]

thats quite useful advice, as we are facing losing some space in our bathroom from the wall moving to accommodate uncovering the fireplace so it is visible in the spare room (unless we want the latest feature to be only visible to our guests when they visit the bathroom )

Trouble is that part of the bathroom floor is raised, and part of the ceiling slopes as it is at roof height - not leaving very many choices... its tapemeasure and graph paper time I think! Moving the shower into the main bedroom could be a possibility, but as the ceiling also slopes, there is only the option of putting it against the corner of the wall as you walk in (its accessed by a short 'corridor' which accommodates one of the bathroom walls then opens out into the room) thus making the whole layout of the room a bit wrong (unless the graph paper proves me wrong in that respect too!)