Extensive experience
Proven track record
Heritage-Led Advice
Welcome To Heritage Unlimited
Heritage Unlimited is a leading historic building consultancy supporting private homeowners, local authorities, charitable organisations, commercial clients, and professionals across the planning and development sector.
We provide clear, comprehensive guidance and robust heritage reports, helping clients navigate complex compliance requirements and develop pragmatic strategies that lead to achievable, successful outcomes for projects involving the historic environment.
Whether you’re planning alterations to your listed building, managing a major development affecting the setting of heritage assets, or exploring sensitive energy‑efficiency improvements that enhance performance while preserving historic character, our team is here to help.
We offer practical, informed support that gives you confidence in your decisions and clarity throughout the process, guiding you towards a successful, compliant, and sustainable outcome.
– Paul Clarke, Founder of Heritage Unlimited.
- Understanding heritage
Our Projects
The Paragon
Nash Court
7 Market Place
Tonbridge Castle
- here to help
Who We Serve
We work with clients who own, manage, or invest in historic buildings and places, helping them make informed, confident decisions about their assets. Our advice is shaped to enable both sensitive conservation and commercially viable development within the historic environment.
Agricultural Sector
The architectural variety of historic farmsteads reflects the evolution of farming practices, regional materials, and the socio-economic conditions of their time.
From the grand, sprawling manors surrounded by barns and cottages, to the humble, solitary farmhouse, each structure tells a story of a time when agriculture was not just a means of livelihood but a way of life.
At the heart of marrying historic farmsteads, many of which are listed, with modern agricultural practices is the concept of farm diversification. This strategy involves identifying alternative revenue streams beyond traditional farming, such as agritourism, renewable energy production, and direct-to-consumer sales, which can provide financial sustainability for the farmstead. Within this concept is the reuse of historic farm buildings, often curtilage listed and unsubtle for modern farming practices can provide opportunities for non-farming use.
As such, retaining and reusing these buildings retain historic character of the farmstead within the landscape.
Commercial & Retail
Helping the commercial and retail sector by providing expertise in restoring and preserving traditional buildings and ensuring their compliance with relevant regulations as well as advising on changes and improvements that can be made to buildings in order to keep them up to date while maintaining their historic integrity.
Developers
A historic building consultancy can help developers with projects that directly or indirectly affect listed buildings or conservation areas by providing comprehensive advice and insight on how changes to a listed building could be achieved for its adaption and sustainable reuse by understanding the significance of the asset. Likewise new development can affect the setting of a listed building or conservation area and understanding how to minimise this impact is paramount to contributing to achieving a positive planning outcome.
Public Sector
Heritage Unlimited provide consultancy services to the public sector through the variety of services we offer, as many councils, government bodies or charitable originations, are custodians of listed buildings, steeped in history and cultural significance. These buildings, many of which no longer serve their original purpose need to be maintained and have a purposeful use. The expertise offered by heritage consultancy firms becomes invaluable in ensuring these treasures are not only preserved but also integrated into contemporary use in a manner that honours their legacy.
Private Owners
Owning a listed building or living in a conservation area brings with it unique challenges and responsibilities. While the regulatory environment may seem daunting, it serves a crucial purpose in safeguarding our shared heritage. Engaging a heritage consultant early in the planning process is beneficial to fully understand the constraints of the property or area and identify where changes are possible before drafting the drawings as no one likes to see their dreams wither away because the plan would not meet the requirements of legislation or planning policies.
Ecclesiastical
The Churches across our landscapes are significant and, unless very modern constructions, hold a great degree of aesthetic, historical, evidential and communal value. These values relate to the design, architectural and visual aspects, association with historic events or people, physical evidence of the past both above and below ground and communal as a place of public gathering and worship. These qualities afford our churches protection under the national heritage list. Heritage Unlimited can help with your planning process to fully understand the setting and assets affected by your proposals and how to mitigate any potential harm.
Charity Sector
We work with charities and charitable trusts who care for historic buildings and places of cultural significance.
Many of these assets face pressures of ageing fabric, limited resources, and the need for renewed purpose. Our specialist advice helps organisations safeguard their heritage while identifying sustainable, community focused uses that honour their mission and ensure long term viability.
Community Groups
We support community groups working to protect the heritage that shapes their local identity.
Whether developing positive projects or challenging development and infrastructure they believe would harm their shared history and sense of place, we provide clear, expert guidance. Our advice helps communities understand significance, navigate heritage processes, and present strong, evidence based cases that safeguard what matters most to them.
- Understanding heritage
Our Heritage Services
We work with clients across a wide range of sectors, delivering tailored advice and specialist reports to support their projects. Speak with our specialists and advance your project with clarity, assurance, and confidence.
Conservation Area Appraisals
Heritage Unlimited can provide detailed and meaningful Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans.
Conservation Management Plans
Our expert team understands the unique historical context of each building, and our comprehensive plans help guide and manage future works to a heritage asset.
Development Advice & Design Guidance
Fully understanding the heritage constraints of your development at an early stage can save both time and money as more often than not, heritage is an afterthought.
Heritage Appeal Statements
If your application has been refused, an appeal can still help you achieve your goals. Appeals safeguard fairness in planning decisions and remain a vital route to securing a positive outcome.
Heritage Assessments
Our Heritage Assessments set out the significance of affected assets and the likely impact of your proposals. They support pre application discussions and help shape projects from the earliest stages.
Heritage Statements
Required for any application affecting a heritage asset, this document explains the asset’s significance, outlines proposed changes to its fabric or setting, and assesses them against statutory and NPPF tests.
Historic Building Recording
Often required as a planning condition, this work documents a building to one of four recording levels, from basic to highly detailed. We provide all levels of recording for listed and non designated heritage assets.
Listed Building Consent Applications
Are the formal process for making changes to a listed building and at Heritage Unlimited we can prepare, submit and monitor the application on your behalf.
Listed Building Survey & Repair Advice
At Heritage Unlimited our understanding of historic and traditional construction methods mean we are well versed in providing suitable repair solutions for historic buildings.
Energy Efficiency and Retrofit
Our ABBE Level 3 accredited experts advise on retrofitting historic buildings for enhanced energy efficiency, lower bills and emissions, while preserving building integrity.
Archaeological Desk-Based Assessments
At Heritage Unlimited, we deliver thorough desk-based archaeological assessments to fulfil local planning authority requirements for developments in Archaeological Priority Areas.
Planning Objections
Concerned or affected by a proposed development that impacts a listed building or conservation area? Heritage Unlimited can prepare policy-led planning objections on your behalf from inappropriate schemes.
We look forward to delivering
exceptional outcomes with you, wherever your project is located.
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