My previous blog about listed buildings mentioned – “Even mundane internal works, such as replacing a solid door with a glass door, or installing full access ramps, might require consent”.
Installing TV screens can now be added to the list of internal works that might require listed building consent.
Listed building consent appeal
In a recent appeal, the reporter had to decide whether to grant retrospective listed building consent for TV screens installed in a medical practice, facing outward to the street via front facing windows.
The medical practice occupies the ground floor of a category A listed building, situated within the New Town Conservation Area in Edinburgh.
Outcome
The reporter refused to grant listed building consent, because:
- The windows are a unifying characteristic of the appeal property and the tenement building as a whole
- The screens, when seen from the street, appear to occupy much of the top half of each window and, together with the obscure grey vinyl screens in the bottom panes, would have an adverse effect on the character of each window and, in turn, the principal elevation of the building
- The frequently changing imagery shown on the screens adds to these adverse effects
- The brackets attached to the timber lintel, and the television screens that they support, not only damage the historic fabric of the building but also have a negative effect on the character, appearance and appreciation of a principal room within it.
Comment
It is common for business premises to have large TV screens in waiting areas. The medical practice referred to examples of screens in other business premises, but the reporter did not consider those comparable to the appeal proposals. That is a reminder that the “each on their own merits” approach is even more important for listed buildings.
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