P22/S3920/HH REFUSED: Window Replacement in a Conservation Area

Marks Road, Henley-on-Thames - South Oxfordshire District Council

Conservation Area Consent refusal for replacement of single-glazed timber windows with double-glazed UPVC sliding sash windows.

Read full planning application here.

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This application had to be made because the semi-detached house is in a conservation area which has an ‘Article 4 Direction’ restricting any changes to the frontage of the properties without Conservation Consent. The applicant has sourced a high-quality UPVC sliding sash window replacement which has been specifically designed to replace historic timber windows. The planners have refused on the basis that the existing windows add character to the conservation area, with colored upper panes, and that secondary glazing would be the right approach which would give better thermal and acoustic properties and retain the existing external window.  

Nobody likes or wants secondary glazing but unfortunately, timber windows of this type have a very specific character, they have very slim frames and glazing bars that are virtually impossible to replicate in a UPVC section and so the conservationists are correct in this instance. It is possible to re-glaze certain windows with very slim double-glazed units such as Slimlite which many Conservation Officers will approve, but the existing timber window sections need to be big enough to accommodate these, and the sash weights may need to be replaced as you are increasing the weight of the window. This needs further investigation but in sensitive Conservation Locations UPVC is not the answer!

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