Planning committees are not usually the most exciting of gatherings to sit in on, it must be said. The recipe of complex regulations, technical jargon and dry discussion doesn’t make for smiling faces and delighted onlookers. Leslie House as it once looked. But Wednesday’s meeting of the central area planning committee at Fife House was different. Different because a decision made by councillors effectively saves the historic Leslie House, the grade-A listed Read more [...]

It was a modest start and there is still an enormous challenge ahead – it is estimated that there are up to 650 illegally-built homes clustered around the ancient site. Five more houses are due to be demolished on Wednesday, along with a sheep pen and a pair of wooden sheds. A total of 30 properties have been served with definitive demolition orders while many others are still being challenged in the courts. Local authorities have been accused of blatantly ignoring court orders to knock down Read more [...]

The chairman of a Welsh council’s planning committee said authorities across Wales are struggling to cope with the thousands of listed buildings under their care. It comes after a claim by an architectural historian that mistakes are being made by planning departments because of the burgeoning workloads, after heritage body Cadw handed the responsibility for listed properties to local authorities. Related: Council breaks its own planning guidelines by putting 200 solar panels on roof Detrimental Read more [...]

Action has been demanded to restore a Fife country house destroyed by fire as a bid to build 28 houses in its grounds was extinguished. Councillor Fiona Grant called for an urgent meeting to debate the future of 17th Century Leslie House, six years on from the devastating blaze.The grade A-listed house on the south-east edge of Leslie is the largest and earliest Restoration house in Fife and was owned by Sir Robert Spencer-Nairn, of the linoleum-producing Read more [...]

12:17 24 August 2015 Prudence Ivey The St Pancras Chambers triplex penthouse has open-plan living space and triple-height volumes in some areas PHILIPVILE Read more [...]

Ruth Kirkby and Leigh Stevens try to catch parents trying to get round schools admissions rules As demand for places at high achieving state schools across the UK continues to grow, the schools admissions process is becoming an ever tougher battleground. One local authority in outer London has deployed investigators to the "front line", Read more [...]

Window frames are made using three main materials: wood, uPVC (a material called unplasticized polyvinyl chloride) and metal. You can also get composite frames, which usually feature a wooden core, covered by plastic or aluminium. Wooden windows look great and are often the best choice for period properties, but they do require the most upkeep. You’ll have to keep on top of wood rot as well as chipped and flaking - completely repainting the frames from time to time is always a Read more [...]

With its ornate stonework and terraced gardens you wouldn’t think that the Roebuck Memorial Homes in Dalton were council houses. Unfortunately, the once glorious grounds of these 1930s almshouses in Wakefield Road have fallen prey to decay, marauding weeds and vandalism. That’s why the Roebuck Memorial Homes Trust has launched a drive for funding and volunteers to restore their splendour. The homes were commissioned by business owner and philanthropist, Harry Roebuck, in memory of his pilot Read more [...]

When artist and writer John Burningham, who drew the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang illustrations, and his wife Helen Oxenbury, the illustrator of children’s book We’re Going On A Bear Hunt, first set eyes on their cliff top house they were excited at the prospect of restoring it to its former glory.At least, John was.The author and illustrator of children’s classics such as Grandpa, Mr Gumpy’s Outing and, his personal favourite, Humbert, has a passion for rescuing well-crafted architectural Read more [...]

Exhausted after all those listed buildings in the last few months, I just have a few bits and pieces to offer this time. First, has nobody spotted the ‘deliberate’ mistake in my article on the listed buildings of West Street back in March? I left out No. 13. Well, no-one has complained! It is a late 18th century building, classical but vernacular Georgian. Nothing great about it, but a lot more interesting than its rendered façade at first suggests.l Going even further back Read more [...]