FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Jackson Architects works across a wide area of the South West, with offices in Cheltenham, Taunton and Crewkerne placing us at the heart of the region. We regularly work throughout Gloucestershire, the Cotswolds, Somerset, Dorset and the surrounding counties. Those three offices mean we have genuine local knowledge of the planning authorities, conservation requirements and building landscape specific to each area. Whether you are based in a Cotswolds village, a Somerset market town or anywhere across the wider South West, we are well placed to help with everything from new builds and extensions to listed buildings, barn conversions and green oak design.

Yes, and this is very much our area of expertise. Over 35 years, Jackson Architects has built up considerable experience working with some of the most challenging and rewarding project types, including listed buildings, barn conversions, green oak design, swimming pools, extensions and new builds. Listed buildings in particular require a detailed understanding of conservation principles and close liaison with local planning authorities, and we are well-versed in navigating that process. Barn conversions, meanwhile, demand both sensitivity to the existing structure and creative thinking to make the spaces work for modern living. We enjoy both.

Thirty-five years in practice speaks for itself, but we appreciate that longevity alone is not the whole story. Jackson Architects has successfully delivered projects of all scales, from modest single-storey extensions to substantial new builds and complex listed building works, across Gloucestershire, Somerset and the wider South West. A significant proportion of our work comes through personal recommendation and repeat clients, which we regard as the most honest measure of a job well done. We are always happy to discuss previous projects relevant to your own, and in many cases we can point you to completed work you can see for yourself.

Absolutely, and it is exactly the kind of project we are well suited to. The Cotswolds presents its own particular planning considerations (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Conservation Area restrictions), a very specific Cotswold design vernacular and the requirements that come with listed building consent.  These add layers of complexity that require careful handling. Jackson Architects has extensive experience working within these constraints across Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds, and we have a strong working knowledge of what the relevant local planning authorities are likely to look for. Getting the early-stage advice right is critical with listed properties, which is why we always recommend an initial consultation before any designs are drawn up.

Yes to both. Green oak framing is one of our specialist areas and produces some of the most characterful buildings we work on. Green oak is beautiful, sustainable and lends itself particularly well to the rural settings common across Somerset, Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds. Swimming pools, whether indoor or outdoor, are another area where Jackson Architects has genuine hands-on experience, including the planning, structural and drainage considerations that are so often underestimated at the outset. If you are considering either, or indeed a project that combines both, we would be delighted to have an early conversation about what is achievable on your site.

No. Our first consultation is free. This normally consists of a meeting with you at the site or project address so that a full assessment of the feasibility, build costs and any issues can be made. For the average domestic project it lasts about one hour.

We are happy to advise over the phone about the prospects of extensions or redevelopment using plans and pictures from the agents particulars but we generally do not visit a property before exchange of contracts. We find that discussing plans in front of a vendor can be detrimental and may even lead to a property being withdrawn from sale.

However, if the property is vacant, we can visit and advise on a time charge basis. Any fees charged will be deducted from later stage fees when the project goes ahead.

Unfortunately is not practical for us to keep a list of potential development sites. Most good plots are sold long before the details are ever printed. I’d go so far as to say if a plot gets onto Rightmove, you should ask yourself what’s wrong with it. It might be the price or it might be something less obvious. Buyer beware! It’s best to make friends with all your local Estate Agents and make it known you are in the market for a building plot and are ready to make a decision quickly.

Experience suggests that clients will be looking for between 3 and 5 years for the right opportunity simply because it takes time to work out what makes your ideal site. You have to decide, and offer, quickly to get the deal.

Absolutely! Once you have found a site, we are happy to give advice on the potential for a site. Generally all we need is the agents details and the ‘tech data’, such as outline planning application or service enquiries, that the Agents normally provide. We recommend you call us before making an offer, if possible, as it is definitely a ‘buyer beware’ market. Horror stories from enquiries in 2025 include a 450mm high pressure gas main running through the site that would not allow buildings, roads or even planting within 15m each side; A building plot with no access due to the main road being in Flood Zone 3; and a site that required a year’s stabilisation before you could lay a single brick!

We are happy to suggest builders with whom we have had successful projects but we always welcome recommendations from our clients. This keeps the tender process transparent and potentially introduces us to another good builder with whom we can work in future.

Although it’s tempting, it is generally a waste of time and can be misleading. Planning drawings do not contain sufficient detail for accurate pricing. The builders will not employ a Quantity Surveyor to carry out the estimate at this stage so it will be ‘ball park’ at best and is often a dramatic underestimate.

This is a surprisingly bad idea but not for reasons you’d expect. It costs builders up to £1,000 in QS fees to price the average two storey extension project and they will sub-tender most packages to two or three different trades and merchants. There is an inevitable cross over so it is very easy to find out who the competition is. If it becomes clear that there are too many vying for one project they will either drop out, not bother pricing, or give a ‘cover price’. The latter is an artificially inflated price plucked from thin air so they don’t waste QS fees and don’t lose face. It is much better to tender to three reliable builders than to try and trawl the market.

The majority (92%) of the 370,000 listed buildings and structures in the UK are Grade II listed. Approximately 5.5% are of special interest and listed Grade II*. At this level even changing paint colours can require Listed Building Consent (LBC). Grade 1 listed buildings are very rare comprising only 2.5% of the total. Cheltenham, for example, has five Grade 1 listed buildings including the two remaining pump rooms (Pittville Pump Room and The Rotunda, currently the Ivy).

Ecclesiastical buildings have their own protection but can also be listed as is the case with two further churches in Cheltenham town centre. Taunton, with its much older origins, has significantly more Grade 1 buildings dating from the twelfth century castle onwards.

The easiest way to imagine it is that we specialise in any project where clients will live in the end product. New houses, Barn conversions, refurbishments and extensions are obvious but we have also converted offices, machine sheds, a willow threshing shed, steel dutch barns, byres, sties, stables, hay barns, a library, a registry office, and many, many more building types into beautiful homes for our clients.

No! Fees based upon a percentage of the build cost are inclined to be ill defined and liable to increase as project costs increase. A double whammy for your wallet! Jackson Architects have always preferred to quote lump sum fee so everyone understands what the costs will be. Following our free first consultation, we will send a fee letter where the bulk of the quoted fee stages will be fixed lump sums. These fees are held for 12 months.

No! This is a common misconception. The bulk of listings date from late 1960’s. For expediency, most residential properties were only inspected externally from the adjacent road or pavement. This often means the interiors and sometimes the rears were not recorded. The Historic England listing only describes specific features of interest but the listed status applies to the whole building, inside and out. All of the structures within its curtilage such as walls, garages and sheds, regardless of quality, are also listed.

Your Conservation officer may well know your building from previous inspections and they have been known to use the pictures in sales particulars to identify unrecorded changes.

Tempting, but no. The ugly extension/conservatory/tin roof etc may well predate the listing date, or it may be an ‘unrecorded change’, but it is still part of the listed building. Consent is required to demolish but it should be easily justified as a ‘net gain’ to the historic asset. You may be able to use its removal as leverage to justify other changes.

The Grenfell Disaster has changed the way in which Building Control Officers are allowed to advise when inspecting building work. It has pushed the onus of design responsibility back onto you, as owner, and therefore onto your Architect as the best person to advise.

The change in attitude has far reaching implications for which a solid paper trail of responsibility is required. It has effectively removed the ability, or willingness, of builders to suggest changes or produce ‘fag packet’ design ideas for fear of accepting the design liability. Solicitors are also increasingly aware of the new legislation and insistent that the Building Control completion is correctly signed off. Property sales are frequently delayed due to missing or incomplete Building Control records.

Maybe… Oak frames have their own structural rhythm, based upon maximum spans and economically available beam lengths. To make best use of the beauty of an oak frame, the house ought to be designed from scratch with that frame in mind rather than trying to shoehorn a frame into an unrelated design. We can advise on any changes that may be needed to make the house design work.

There’s no limit to how big the whole building can be but average economical spans for the main trusses and beams will be around 5m, and bay spacings around 3.5m – 4m. Working within those parameters will help keep the frame elements to a reasonable section size and traditional forms. Larger spans are possible, for example for swimming pools, but require careful design and more complex truss forms.

Although it’s nice to think we can become ‘eco-friendly’ by swapping a gas boiler for an Air Source Heat Pump, the first stage will always be ‘insulate, insulate, insulate’. It’s not very exciting but the message has been out there since the 1960’s. Trying to upsize the renewable system to compensate for poor insulation simply results in much higher capital and running costs. Most renewable sources (except biomass) produce low grade/ low temperature heat for which the most suitable heating form is under floor heating (UFH). A poorly insulated house with UFH will require the temperature to be turned up to the point where the floor is uncomfortable to live with. Bearing in mind any extension will be insulated to current building regulations levels (which are amazing!), we can the focus on the remaining elements starting with roof space, then floors and then external walls, to improve the insulation levels throughout.

Air Source heat pumps are the current favourite, and the most flexible, subject to the house being well insulated to keep electrical loadings reasonable. Modern ASHP’s can also deliver water at sufficiently high temperatures to drive conventional low temperature radiators without losing too much in efficiency.

Solar panels (PV) can generate electricity to charge large battery packs to then heat the hot water, charge an electric vehicle or provide power to run the electrics at night. Some EV’s allow you to charge back to the system. In most cases it is better to use the power at source than export although some providers buy back rate is higher at peak times than their off peak unit price. In this case you can sell day time production from the battery store at peak and then recharge it at night. Smart controls ensure the power is directed to the right part of the system, or sold, at any particular time.

Yes. Happily. Pass me my soap box! Jackson Architects has designed and coordinated many renewable or ‘Eco-friendly’ systems over the last 25 years. This includes ASHP systems, PV arrays, Ground Source Heat Pumps, bore holes, large scale domestic bio-mass systems, heat stores, external insulated renders, whole house heat-exchanger vent installations, green roofs, grey water and rainwater harvesting systems. We are happy to advise on the relative pros and cons of each. We have also upgraded two large Victorian properties to run entirely on renewable energy and designed at least twelve new houses and conversions which are heated entirely with ground or air source heat pumps. Virtually all new housing currently on our drawings boards will be underfloor heated via electric ASHP’s.