Façades Design Criteria

The following appraisal criteria applies for all stages of design:

1. Composition

The component parts of the design are positioned and sized to form a coherent whole.

2. Proportions

The dimensions of all the components within the façade and how they relate to each other and to the buildings in the setting and context.

3. Geometry

The overall form and size of all the façades and each one of their parts, and how these relate to each other and to the shape of the setting and context.

4. Mass treatment

How all the façade components contribute to define the massing of the building and how these are treated to relate to the setting and context.

5. Palette & textures

Relating the proposal to the range of colours already existing in the setting/context and how these might appear at different times of the day and with changing seasons. It also refers to relating the proposal to the range of porosities and patterns (geometrical or not) already existing in the setting and context.

6. Details

The management of added detail, their quality and appropriateness, and how these relate to the setting and context.

Painting historic buildings in Nottingham

Painting can be a relatively cheap way of improving the appearance of a building and enhancing the character of an area. However, it can also have a harmful impact where it is out of character with the building or its surroundings. Repainting windows, doors, gutters and fascias, as part of the normal maintenance of a building, doesn’t need permission. However, if you are intending to paint the whole of a building, or large parts of it, you need to be aware that permission may be needed from the council. We therefore recommend that you seek our advice before starting any work.

Is the painting an ‘advert’?

Adverts are controlled through planning law. If you are proposing to paint a building for the purposes of ‘announcement or display’, (including business names and logos, and symbols relating to the business or activity taking place in the building) it would be classed as an advert, and permission from the council is likely to be needed. It is an offence to display an advertisement without permission.

Is it a listed building?

If the building is listed, and the painting will change the character and appearance of the building (for example a significant change of colour) permission is needed. It is an offence to carry out work affecting a listed building without consent.

If the painting is an advert, and the building is also listed, then both listed building consent and advertisement consent will be needed.

Other considerations

Where a building is made out of brick or stone, and has not been painted before, painting is a major change that will have a long-term impact on the appearance of the building that is difficult to reverse. A painted wall is likely to need significantly more long term maintenance than an unpainted one.