Warmer Bath

Improving the energy efficiency of traditional homes in the City of Bath
should be permitted in any listed building in
Bath where the wall has no important historic
features.
10% The installation of internal solid wall insulation
should not be permitted in listed buildings in
Bath.
4% None of the above.
Among respondents who live in listed buildings in Bath,
85% supported the use of internal wall insulation in the
city’s listed buildings on walls which have no important
historic features, including 28% who supported the use
of insulation on all internal walls.
Bath Preservation Trust position
The Trust supports the installation of internal solid wall
insulation in listed buildings in Bath as long as there is no
impact on important historic features.
Reflective panels for radiators
Even if wall insulation is out of the question in your
home, consider installing reflective panels behind your
radiators. These reflect the heat back into your room
and prevent the walls from soaking up the heat. This is
especially important for radiators that are attached to
the inside of exterior walls. Radiator panels are cheap,
effective and easy to install. They can be bought from
major DIY stores or online.
Planning and building control
Listed buildings
Loft insulation can be installed in listed buildings
without consent as long as the insulation is in no way
adhesive and can be removed without any damage to
the building fabric. Tile vents do not require consent if
the character of the listed building is unaltered.
If you have a suspended timber floor and you can only
insulate your ground floor from above, you will need
listed building consent to take the floorboards up. If
your floorboards and skirting boards are original and
of historic interest, you may not get consent. If you
have solid floors, you will need listed building consent
if you want to add insulation over or under the floors.
If the floors are original, you may be more likely to gain
consent if you add insulation over the floor, minimising
impacts on the original fabric.
Both the exterior and interior walls define the character
of listed buildings so you must seek listed building
consent for any project involving wall insulation. Exterior
wall insulation is likely to be refused as it is considered
to be too damaging to the character and integrity of the
building. However, you could make a case if the wall is, or
has been, rendered and you plan to finish the new wall
surface in a comparable lime render.
Interior wall insulation is likely to be refused if it
compromises the proportions of a room or affects
historic features such as mouldings. However, many
listed buildings in Bath have seen major changes to their
interior fabric and proportions over their history. Where
this has happened, there may be opportunities for
renovation and renewal which could potentially include
the installation of wall insulation.
You do not need listed building consent to install
reflective panels behind your radiators.
Other traditional buildings
If you live in an unlisted building in the World Heritage
Site, you do not need planning permission to install
insulation unless you are insulating the outside of
the building. To improve your chances of getting
permission for exterior wall insulation, use a finish
which is appropriate for the traditional construction and
sympathetic to the surrounding houses and street. A
lime render finish painted the colour of Bath stone may
be suitable. If you can afford to, you could even clad the
new wall in Bath stone.
Building regulations
Building Regulation approval is not required for the
installation of insulation in a roof space.
The installation of insulation on an external wall, or on or
under a floor which is exposed to either the ground or
the outside air, will require Building Regulation approval
if the area to be renovated is greater than 50% of the
surface of that individual element. Certain classes of
traditional buildings maybe exempt from the energy
efficiency requirements of the regulations or special
considerations may apply which permit a lesser standard
of insulation to be acceptable.
* English Heritage: Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings: Insulating solid
walls, 2010.
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