If you own a heritage asset and want to undertake alterations or repairs, it is recommended to seek advice from a conservation professional.
Get advice from the council
The Council encourages its pre-application advice service which can provide informal guidance before you submit an application. Pre-application advice can help speed up the planning process as any potential problems can be highlighted before you submit an application.
Find independent professional advice
You can also consider using independent heritage consultant.
For help with finding a conservation professional with the skills and experience you require please visit Historic England's page. You may also find the Royal Institute of British Architects conservation register useful for finding a particular building specialist.
Self-guidance
Searching your local Conservation Area Appraisal is a good starting point before planning any external works. For listed buildings, the National Heritage Register may contain information about the special characteristics of the property.
Advice on many aspects of building conservation is available from specialist organisations and interest groups, with the main ones set out below:
- Historic England publishes a wealth of free resources on a variety of different conservation issues.
- The Institute of Historic Building Conservation publishes several free publications including one on maintaining your property and one on valuing historic places.
- The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) offers a free building conservation advice service. SPAB also provides a number of useful publications including a question-and-answer series on technical matters relating to historic buildings, and a change of use checklist.
- The Georgian Group publishes a series of advisory leaflets for building owners on specific building features, however there is a small charge for these.
- The Victorian Society publishes a range of information leaflets on the care of Victorian houses, however there is a small charge for these.
A directory of useful links and guidance documents is published by the council.