Grade Two Listing

Council planning departments have been cut to the bone but their regulations have increased, so some attempt to stop inappropriate alterations.
I’ve just had an upstairs bathroom built. £900 to the architects for Listed Buildings Consent. The detail required for the tiny window was unbelievable and a heritage impact report needed. No way could an unqualified owner have done that successfully.
Good luck with renovating an entire house. It will take a very long time and will cost a great deal more than you expect!

As M0nica suggests I'd find a good local surveyor rather than an architect, they're much more practical but still know all the rules. They also know many good local tradesmen.
The maze of rules you have to follow is maddening, it took us well over a year to get permission to replace our slate roof, even though we were planning to use the correct materials and employing a well-know competent local roofer. Much of our waiting time was down to them failing to meet their own deadlines for decisions, on one occasion promising a decision "on Monday" but we found the officer had actually gone on holiday immediately after our meeting.
I don't think that you are actually required to get a Heritage impact report unless the building you are renovating has not previously (or recently) been a residence.
Some people have recommended speaking to the local government department responsible for listed buildings - I suggest you don't do this unless your surveyor tells you this is necessary for what you need to do. Of course it depends on how helpful they are in your area, but in ours they are only interested in racking up their own fees. On every occasion they were obstructive rather than helpful.

Welcome to being a custodian of history . Totally agree with other advice join the Listed Property Owners Club , & contact local Council heritage officer . Both have a fountain of knowledge & extremely helpful who will guide you in what you need .
Historic England really only interested in Grade 1 grade 2 * buildings .

If you need a building surveyor there are specialists in listed building , & do your homework on work builders & renovators so they have the right skills . As if it is completed wrong , it would have to be corrected.

We have recently bought a grade 2 listed building , which is a vicarage boundary to church grounds - beware if you need to put scaffolding up on church grounds - you have to go through church faculty of DACS ( as not linked with Council Planning , has there own Ecclesiastical planning DACS ) . This can take up to 6 mths to be ratified & a lot of red tape.

Friend needed to replace windows in his, there were double glazed before property listed so could replace with right sort of double glazed ines

We owned a house that was Grade ll* , so was even more difficult than Grade ll, and I would suggest making friends with your Local Government Conservation Officer. They can be really really helpful ‘specially when he realises ‘ you want his help to do things properly ‘! Good Luck and enjoy

Speak to your local planning department then go on the RIBA (www.architecture.com) website to find an architect who specialises in this sort of work

We have recently sold ours! Phew!!!
Local Council's usually have a Conservation Officer...probably your first port of call for advise.

My aunt and uncle lived in a Tudor house which desperately needed rewiring. She was appalled at the quotes so got a book out of the library and did it herself. She was obviously incredibly handy. She went on to make a four poster bed at night school when she got bored with the upholstery classes. My uncle was utterly useless at anything practical.

My Victorian flat is listed (grade 2).
Upstairs neighbours moved in and installed a sky dish on the facade. It was removed a week later!

We live in a grade 2 listed building and confirm what mOnica says. Also, the local conservation officer is an essential contact as they seem to have a veto on anything they don’t like. Hoping ours retires soon and we get a more helpful one!

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Yes, our cottage is G2 listed.

I can only confirm what everyone else has said... check out what is expected locally.

We have a thatched roof for example, and the rules were very strict when we re -thatched.

Your local Conservation Officer should be able to advise.... fingers crossed you get a good one. They vary !!!!

I own a Listed Grade II building, and also recommend joining the Listed Building owner's club too. It's £48 per year and full of useful information.

The local Conservation Officer is an essential contact. I had contacted him recently and was pleased to see him at the car boot sale yesterday so I could shake his hand! Can save a lot of angst having help with locating contractors that are sympathetic to older properties - cement has done so much damage to my house.

Good luck, and enjoy your renovation. Unfortunately I am now widowed and am having to sell my magnificent pile.

I have renovated a grade 2 listed building. I had to obtain Listed Building and Building Regulation permissions by presenting an architects drawing, filling out a form, and paying a fee to my local council. I also live in a conservation area.
Look on the Buildings section of your local council website to see what you are expected to do in your area. Good luck.

Your local council can be very helpful and having owned a Grade 2 Welsh Longhouse myself I found the conservation people very helpful indeed. They know many of the local builders who specialise in maintaining such buildings. Have fun. It is wonderful what you find as you work on such a house. We dug up a bronze dolphin and a mediaeval lead inkwell in our garden while clearing it.

We own a Grade 2 listed building which we are still working on 20 years after we bought it.

The simple answer to your query is go and talk to your local Conservation Officer. They are a fount of wisdom and as to precisely what is and is not possible, this varies from authority to authority, although the brosd rules are the same everywhere.

I would really recommend joining the Listed Properties Owners Club www.lpoc.co.uk/. We only joined a few years ago and wished we had done it sooner. They are an absolute fund of useful and helpful knowledge.

We have written all the documents required for planning permissions ourselves. and only used an architect once for an extension and he was worse than useless. You should be able to do this, depending on how much knowledge you have of the history of your house and how much you understand its history and development.

If you would like to PM me I would be very happy to give you some help and advice, but my main recommendation would be to join LPOC

Yes, I've lived in a Grade II house where building -work/alterations/additions had to be in keeping with the house the way in which it was built in Victorian times. No modern double-glazing, so at the time of living there I had secondary glazing done on the dining room windows/patio door which looked out across the garden and the sea beyond where a gale force 8 would blow.

External materials had to match outside work. H and I knew all the do's and don'ts from neighbours who we knew at the time, but no doubt there'll be other things to add to the list. The local council usually have lists of the properties and will advise what or what not to do.

Be careful what you change in the house especially external features but also major internal features as well. For structural work you will need and architect, for smaller changes you won’t, one mistake that is commonly made is to replace existing windows with modern double glazed units. Talk to the local councils Conservation Architect first, he can make you remove them if he doesn’t like them.
It needn’t cost much extra to do approved refurbishment, doing unapproved work will be very expensive.

The Heritage Impact Assessment is often carried out by archaeology companies.

You might get advice from the planning authority or Historic England regarding ones local to you. Personally, I'd opt for one of the smaller ones as they'll at least treat you as an individual. I don't know how they compare price-wise, though. Check their websites to find one that has buildings experience.

I’d get an architect on board to help you through the process, also to advise on any grants from Historic England.