The Building Safety Act was introduced after the Grenfell Tower tragedy to make sure buildings are designed and built safely, and that everyone involved is clearly responsible for their part in the process. But it is not just about high-rise blocks: it now affects all types of building work, including housing developments, extensions and conversions.

Proposed Entrance Pavilion for the University of Liverpool.

PAA obtained Listed Building Consent for a scheme of window replacement and internal modifications to a five storey Georgian townhouse on Falkner Square, Liverpool. The building is within the Canning Street Conservation Area.

Converting office spaces into residential flats presents a viable solution to tackle the housing shortage in the UK. While obtaining Planning Permission is often necessary for such conversions, there are specific scenarios where it is possible to proceed without it.

Nutrient neutrality was meant to protect rivers and wetlands from excess pollution, but in practice it stalls housing development, targets the wrong sources, and fails to address decades of under-investment in water infrastructure. This post examines why the policy, however well-intentioned, is often ineffective on the ground.

We were commissioned to produce a Feasibility Study for the former bowling green site in Chelford, a picturesque Cheshire village known for its historic homes and rural setting.

We were commissioned to produce a feasibility study, which formed the basis of several pre-application submissions to Manchester City Council. The site is the location of a former textile mill and is situated alongside the River Irk.

The proposals comprise 6 no city-centre apartments arranged over two storeys with basement parking. The site was formerly used as a workshop for light industry and is currently vacant. The site is an infill with an irregular shape derived from the fact that it was simply a piece of land to the rear of the surrounding terraced housing.

Garden office pavilion for private client in Alderley Edge designed around a mature tree.

Set behind a once-grand Victorian mansion within the Sefton Park Conservation Area in Liverpool lay a disused brownfield site ready for a new chapter. Our proposal introduced three high-quality executive family townhouses that balanced compact, contemporary design with a respect for the historic context. The architectural response was deliberately restrained, ensuring that when viewed from the street, the new buildings sit almost imperceptibly within their setting. The Flemish bond brickwork of the former hotel is reinterpreted by employing a crisp, rigorous contemporary language, establishing a dialogue between old and new.

We were commissioned to design an 3-storey apartment building for a prominent site in Formby. The site was formerly occupied by a 1970s concrete-framed ambulance station as sits within a typical suburban context. The proposed building features a palette of buff Weinerger Con Mosso bricks with bronze coloured metal cladding to the mansard roof and cantilevered balconies. The design grew out of a helical plan, ensuring each apartment benefits from a uniform layout while addressing the geometry of the corner site.

If you intend to extend or alter a Listed Building in a manner would affect its character then you need to apply for Listed Building Consent.

It is important to consider that an owner of a Listed Building is described as a ‘temporary custodian of the nation’s heritage’. The protection of the nation’s heritage is deemed to be so important that it is a criminal offence to carry out alterations which need Listed Building Consent without obtaining it first.

Residential proposal for post-industrial site in Manchester

Full Planning Permission has been secured for 6 no. 2 bed apartments in Bramhall, Stockport.

Concept sketches for Claire House Liverpool.