Extension on back of grade II listed property

[Mammyofonlyone]

We'd love to put an extension along the back of our grade II listed property to make the house more workable/practical as a family home.

However, having had failed attempts to get planning for another structure in the grounds of the property, I'm reluctant to spend more thousands of pounds on architects fees if there's not even a chance to extend.

For context, we'd be looking to extend what is already an extension on the original building (albeit it probably at least over a hundred years old). We would build in local stone, with traditional windows etc etc with the aim to make it blend in as much as possible. The extension itself would come out about 5metres from the current wall.

Does anyone have experience of dealing with the planners with listed buildings? Any insight whatsoever would be really useful. TIA

You need to speak to your councils Conservation Officer. Often they charge for advice before you get to submission of plans. But yes, it's expensive and time consuming, and there isn't really a way around it.

A good local architect will also help advise but again you need to have budget for that.

Your failed proposal shouldn't affect a new proposal as they're all reviewed on their own merit.

It will totally depend on the attitude of your local planner as well as the specifics of your house and it’s history, unfortunately. We were granted permission for a rear extension with little commentary , but are getting pushback on other interventions aimed at addressing structural problems because those interventions (despite being necessary) would be difficult to reverse.

a good architect with expertise in historic buildings and experience with the local planners was critical for us, and helped us understand what was high vs low probability of success.

Fonda n architect or design and build company that specialises in listed buildings - by word of mouth or local Nextdoor/Facebook - or local free glossy mags if you have a lifestyle one ‘Kent Life’.

they should know the planning officers and what they are looking for. They will also do a ‘pre app’ where planning officers make comments and advise on an early stage design

I know someone who wanted to rebuild and extend a leaking conservatory on a Grade 2 listed building. Their architect drew a plan which was essentially a Georgian Orangery so perfectly in keeping with the building. The local conservation officer thought it would be OK. It took a year and 2 appeals and planning was rejected. Even the conservation officer was baffled! Good luck.

You need an architect with specialist historic building knowledge.
You need to speak to the Council's conservation officer.
Don't forget all other planning considerations remain relevant. 5m is quite big if going on the back of a previous addition so think about impact on neighbours etc. Are there any other constraints - green belt, AONB, conservation area etc?

We managed to get permission for an extension on the rear of our listed house. It was a long process involving everything from bat surveys to historic building reports. We had to make a few changes but the size and main features were passed. Our experience is that it is worth getting in touch with your conservation officer early on and they seem to prefer the new section to be obviously modern, not a copy of the original house.

Usually they would prefer a more modern extension than something that is designed to blend in and pretend to be old.

We got permission to extend to the back of our listed property. We did a pre planning enquiry first, which we paid a few hundred for. I'm not sure this service is offered in all areas though.

As part of that the conservation officer had a site visit and our architect talked him through the plans. The proposal was for a modern extension with a glass walkway, but using mainly sympathetic materials with modern corten steel detailing. The conservation officer suggested a few changes which we made for the full application. It went through without a hitch.

I do know that they approved it in part because we weren't trying to pretend it was part of the old building. It was our well designed 21st century addition that was clearly distinct.