Grade II properties, electrics and woodworks

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Hear, hear. Well said.

Reply to
Huge
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I live in a listed house. It isn't THAT bad around here (Glos)... but pretty dictatorial all the same. If in doubt, and you think you are right, then just go to appeal. It only costs you time. ;-)

[RANT: The LBO's here took 2 years to approve my roof vent tile... They agreed it a week-or-so after I sent in the details, but never got round to sending out a reply. They seem to be bogged down by inefficiencies - perhaps explains why they never have enough time? My own personal thought is that I think that they ought to be a bit more proactive and keep details of companies and contractors that work well on old buildings. They could provide advice and references on how to maintain old houses. Far more constructive rather than always taking the negative stance of resisting changes.]

Colin

Reply to
Colin

Quite true, but then again not everybody has the same taste, thankfully. Buildings are AFAIK listed for a reason. Buildings can be listed because of age, rarity, architectural merit, and method of construction.

People like me - you mean there are people like me ??

But with care and the correct sort of maintenance can last quite a long time.

No for as long as possible. As I said previously if you are not willing to follow the "rules" of owning a listed building then owning a listed building is not for you. I believe a choice exists in that there are quite a few buildings in the UK that arn't listed to choose from.

Reply to
Andy Farrall

Usually the whim of a LBO or English Heritage "activist". A few years back one listed a brand new house in Oxfordshire because their normal route to work was blocked and they saw this interesting "old" house on their new route with scaffolding at one end. She got into work and promptly got on to a friend in English Heritage for an emergency spot listing. It took no end of trouble for the owner (who was building it as a period design himself) to get it de-listed. At one stage the LBO even threatened him with prosecution if he continued to work on building his brand new house.

Another listed an air raid shelter in the middle of a scrap yard - its now "preserved" under a thousand old cars.

There are over half a million listed buildings in the UK, the listing plague will have everything listed sooner or later.

But why should they? Why try to preserve a crappy concrete 1920's pile which can't be lived in because it's cold and suffers terminal condensation because of its shoddy design and construction just because it has "period features and windows" (Crittall at that!)?

Once a building has gone past its useful life it should be replaced.

But why on earth should you want to keep a rotten building on life support for years? If you fancy doing it as a hobby so be it, but how many of the "heritage" stuff now being preserved would ever have been built if the same rules had existed when they were constructed? "You can't go building that modern timber crap 'ere mate - that mud 'uts listed, get down to cousin Silas at river and he'll see you alright with a groat of mud for the repairs. Make sure you use the south bank mud though - north bank'd be out of keeping round 'ere".

Reply to
Peter Parry

Like I said there is a choice - if you want what you seem to be arguing for there is Milton Keynes. Thankfully through listing some of our heritage will be preserved (for as long as possible at least). There is little to separate us from Americans already - remove our heritage and history and there will be nothing !

Reply to
Andy Farrall

Too late - the listers have got there first.

Some buildings are worthy of preservation - half a million of them, including gasometers, Nissen huts and numerous decaying concrete heaps are not.

If that was really the case, and the character of the country rested solely on the artificial preservation of ratted old buildings then we would indeed be nothing.

Reply to
Peter Parry

Even more to the point, jow many of todays really great houses would exist of listing had been prevalent 500 years ago?

Not a single one. They are all adapations and extensions involving serious remodelling and demolition. They kepyt teh good bits and trashed the stuff they didn'tr want.

Result. Organically evolving properties with REAL history.

The whole listing fiasco needs a damned good looking at IMHO.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

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