Listed Building Renovation Guide
Updated: Aug 7
Planning a listed building renovation or restoration can feel daunting, particularly when planning rules, listed building consent and traditional building methods all need to be considered. Whether you're restoring original features, renovating a Grade II listed property or planning sympathetic alterations, understanding the process early can help your project run far more smoothly.
To help make your project run smoother, we've gathered some key information and answered some of the most commonly asked questions about listed building renovation.
Types of listed buildings
A building gets listed by being added to the list of buildings or sites of “special architectural and historic interest” that is kept by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. They are advised on what to list by Historic England. There are three grades of listing, Grade I, Grade II* and Grade II. Since over 90% of listed buildings are Grade II, we’ll concentrate on them.
All listings are different: the listing may cover just the building itself but may also cover attached structures or fittings, later additions or extensions or even pre 1948 buildings on land within the curtilage of the building, e.g. if a farmhouse was listed and the land within its curtilage was included in the listing, that would mean its garden was included: it wouldn’t include all the fields of the farm.
Is my property a listed building?
It’s the homeowner’s responsibility to find out whether their home is listed before carrying out any work on it, but it’s easy to check. The Historic England website has a “Search the List” page which includes a postcode search facility. Listed buildings can be anywhere, not just in conservation areas or other designations like ANOB or green belt.
If you're unsure why a property has been listed or what the different listing grades actually mean, our guide to What makes a building listed? explains how buildings are assessed and protected.
Can you renovate a listed building?
The short answer is yes. If a building is listed, that covers the whole building, interior and exterior, so all renovation work should be checked for whether it needs Listed Building Consent.
When is listed building consent required?
Applications for both listed building consent and planning approval go to your local authority, although they are different. For some types of work, you may need listed building consent but not planning approval. If you have a project in mind, you’ll need to check carefully on what approvals you will need. It’s best to contact your local authority and connect with their conservation officer to discuss whether listed building consent will be required. Your architect or surveyor will often help guide you through this process, working alongside the conservation officer to ensure proposals are suitable before an application is submitted. Listed building renovation rules A normal requirement is that where old items are being replaced, they should be replaced like for like. For example, if a ceiling or interior wall made from lath and lime plaster needs replacing, it will normally need to be replaced in lath and lime plaster – and brickwork will need to be replaced using matching imperial size bricks and be laid in lime mortar.
There are listed buildings where this wouldn’t apply: pioneering design or the work of a famous architect can get listed – Charles Rennie Mackintosh or Edwin Lutyens buildings or art deco properties would be examples. They are all comfortably within the age of cement mortar. Exceptions to replacing like with like would include removal of asbestos – there would be likely to be a requirement to replace a removed asbestos item with something in keeping but there couldn’t be a requirement to retain asbestos. There would be no requirement to replace lead water pipes with lead. There is no requirement that lead water pipes should be removed either. Successfully renovating or restoring a listed building is about more than simply matching materials. It requires an understanding of traditional construction methods, heritage craftsmanship and modern building regulations to ensure the building's character is preserved while meeting today's standards. Listed building renovation and restoration costs
A listed building renovation cost will of course vary depending on what work is required. With any listed building renovation or restoration you should expect a premium to reflect the required specific materials, traditional skills, the labour involved and the specialist expertise from a competent architect and experienced building contractor.
Specialist contractors understand how historic buildings behave and how to work sympathetically within the requirements of listed building consent. Investing in the right expertise from the outset can often help avoid costly mistakes later in the project.
Listed building renovation grants There may be some good news to add to the unwelcome news of high costs, difficulty in sourcing period materials and period skills or even drying times of lime plaster and mortar.
Firstly, living in a building of such class that it appears in the national list of exceptional buildings is a benefit in itself, but also, there may possibly be grants available for repair and restoration. The money is allocated to the most urgent cases so it’s unlikely that a home refurbishment would receive a grant but if you’re the owner of an old architectural gem that’s in genuine urgent need of saving, it’s possible that you could get a grant for a substantial part of the cost. Again, the Historic England website is where to start your search.
As a listed building renovation specialist with over 30 years’ experience we’re proud to work on some of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire's most characterful and historic properties. We have a wealth of traditional skills that we're passionate about using, and our respect for these buildings and their preservation is at the heart of everything we do.
If you're considering renovating or restoring a listed building and would like to discuss your project, we'd be delighted to help. Please contact our friendly team at mail@saundersbrothers.co.uk or call 01844 273783.
You can also explore our recent Listed Building projects for inspiration and browse the related articles below to learn more about listed building consent, traditional construction methods and heritage renovations.
