Project guidance
Colour, paintwork & conservation consent
The useful consent question is specific: which surface, which preparation and what change of finish? For a Richmond property, collect those details before assuming that an exterior repaint or an interior colour change is straightforward maintenance.
Establish the status of the property
Check the council's conservation-area information and the national listed-building record for the address. Listing concerns the building's interior as well as its exterior. Keep any existing permissions and relevant drawings with your decorating brief, particularly where the proposed work revisits an earlier scheme. The correct starting point is the actual property, not the appearance of a similar house nearby.
Sources: Richmond Council: listed buildings and consent; Historic England: listed-building record on Richmond Green
Describe the change precisely
The council's listed-building guidance says interior or exterior painting may need consent if it affects special interest. Note a new colour, a different coating, proposed stripping and any alteration to a detail as separate parts of the proposal. A written description supported by photographs is more useful than a general request to freshen the house. Our sister consultancy can handle the consent process for the agreed scope.
Sources: Richmond Council: listed-building painting guidance; Hampstead Renovations: professional surveying support
Read the direction, not just the map
An Article 4 direction can remove permitted development rights for specified works at specified properties. Richmond's guidance explains that directions may cover only part of a conservation area. Check the relevant document and schedule before deciding whether the proposed facade painting or other exterior work needs planning permission. Do not extend a householder exemption to flats or assume that every direction controls the same alterations.
Sources: Richmond Council: conservation areas and exterior alterations; Richmond Council: Article 4 directions in conservation areas; Richmond Council: checking whether planning permission is needed
Separate established finishes from new coatings
Use photographs to distinguish existing painted render, joinery and metalwork from bare brick or stone. The council discourages new facade painting where unpainted materials define the area. For historic coatings, Historic England also advises care before stripping layers that may hold evidence of earlier decoration. Resolve the proposed preparation with the consent and repair advice, before agreeing how a new finish will be applied.
Sources: Richmond Council: conservation areas and exterior alterations; Historic England: redecorating an older home
Keep a usable approval record
Retain the accepted colour references, sample record, preparation specification and any consent conditions with the quotation. If the scheme changes during the work, refer the change back to the appropriate decision maker before proceeding. Hampstead Chartered Surveyors & Building Consultancy handles listed-building and planning consents as a separate sister-company service; agree that professional appointment alongside the decorating brief.
Sources: Hampstead Renovations: professional surveying support
A repaint in Richmond
Your home.
Your next project.
Share the changes you have in mind for your house or flat. We can discuss the extent of the painting, the finishes you want to retain and how the work might fit around occupation.
Tell us about your property
Include the Richmond address, the areas to repaint and any dates that matter to you.