With over two decades of architectural and engineering expertise, Western Building Consultants specialises in transforming visions into reality.
Whether you’re planning a Cotswold barn conversion, a new architectural design, or seeking award-winning Cotswold architects, our skilled team is equipped to deliver projects that blend seamlessly with the charming aesthetic of the Cotswolds.
Converting a barn presents an exciting opportunity to craft your ideal living space. Barns offer ample room to explore and unleash creativity, thanks to their generous dimensions. With thoughtful design, you can harness the vastness of these structures to your advantage.
Our accolades speak volumes; we were honoured with the prestigious “Best Property Consultant” title at the 2022 Bath Property Awards, a testament to our commitment to excellence.
With two decades of dedicated service, our team boasts unrivalled expertise in architectural, engineering, and surveying services, deeply rooted in the Bath and Cotswolds communities. Whether you’re envisioning a barn conversion or seeking a custom design, our tailored services ensure your unique architectural aspirations are not only met but exceeded.
Converting those unused barns into homes is now simpler. New regulations allow for double the previous number of dwellings – up to 10 – and a bigger total floor space. Even single-story rear extensions are on the table but with some conditions. To benefit, your barn needs to predate July 24th, 2023, have proper access to a public road, and boast a history of agricultural use for at least a decade.
There are additional rules regarding prior permitted development and how long a barn can be unused before conversion. Remember, significant structural changes might push your project beyond permitted development rights.
If your barn conversion doesn’t meet these criteria, or you have a more complex project in mind, then applying for full planning permission becomes necessary. This involves detailed plans, consultations with the local planning authority, and potentially Historic England if the barn has historical significance.
Consulting a residential architect, who is experienced in barn conversions can be invaluable in navigating these processes.
Why not trust an award-winning service (Bath Property Awards Best Consultant 2022), with architects that take the time to understand your aspirations and vision?
Western Building Consultants have been providing architectural services to residential and commercial clients for more than 15 years. We specialise in designing extensions, house extensions, remodelling, loft conversions, and new build bespoke projects. And you can be sure that your building project will meet all safety codes and regulations as we are approved by CIAT & the RICS. We are also members of the trading standards scheme BUY WITH CONFIDENCE.
Have a project in mind? Contact us today to explore how our expertise can achieve your architectural aspirations in the Cotswolds.
Being socially responsible and promoting excellent ethics is at the forefront of our business. Our staff are happy and content and this is shown through our positive approach to your project. We work to the highest professional standards as required by both the RICS and CIAT. You can rest assured that when you employ WBC you will be supporting an organisation that champions local, national and international projects through schemes such as FairTrade, Mentoring Plus and the Bath percent club. This is backed up by a rigorous Corporate Social Responsibility Policy. We sponsor many grass roots sports clubs such as Combe Down Rugby Club, Frome Park Bowls Club & Cardiff Harlequins.
We are realistic with timescales and honest about what you will receive. Most people underestimate the time involved with a building project, but we are upfront about what is involved and will be clear about how long a project might take. Throughout the project we will continue to update you about progress and will advise you if there will be a disruption in the timetable.
We have vast planning experience and are adaptable to most architectural styles and ages of buildings. We are perfectly able to adapt to the style of your property from contemporary to traditional, urban to rural. We have designed projects in most styles and can use our broad experience to help design the best solution for your property, using whatever construction technology best suits your needs. Whether you plan a modest alteration or something spectacular WBC can help you achieve your project goals.
We employ qualified professionals with a variety of skill sets and the latest training. many of our employees have specialist post graduate qualifications. We also train selected staff through university programmes and professional qualifications to ensure our clients get the best trained surveyors and up to date advice. You will receive a professional, comprehensive and cohesive consultation and guidance throughout the project, ensuring that your development is handled with a consultant level of knowledge.
We are here for you when you need us, with our survey to completion guarantee. You won’t be left alone, we will fit in wherever you need us in the project or guide you through the whole process. You will have the knowledge that someone is always at hand whatever level of service you need.
Whilst offering exceptional value for money we also bring a positive, approachable, pragmatic, realistic and well rounded attitude to your project. You will feel at ease discussing issues with your project, our pragmatic approach to design and refurbishment means that we can often deliver built in VALUE. One example of this is recognising where cost savings can be made in the design without compromising the overall scheme and offering a higher standard of technical specification over many of our competitors, this reduces the need for outside engineering input and ultimately saves you money in fees. We are grounded which means that we can deliver a build in a cost conscious manner in order to make sure our projects are buildable.
Where we do not have the in house skills to tackle an element of a project we are well networked locally to utilise outside consultants that we have built up relationships with over many years. You will get the best of local knowledge and be introduced to like minded trusted suppliers with excellent professional services.
We can provide the majority of services required for a small project in house, making us practically a one stop shop. Having most services in house means that we are often fully accountable for the professional services on your project, this ensures simplicity, communication and efficiency. By utilising a multi-disciplinary approach we are able to keep professional costs for the project extremely competitive and hassle free, essentially you only pay for one set of overheads.
We have unparalleled technical knowledge and produce comprehensive architectural designs and surveys. You will be getting market-leading technical advice that has been approached with imaginative problem-solving techniques. This helps us to identify potential problems with a build before they arise.
Our knowledge adds value, an example of this is that most architects do not provide any advice on the structure of a building during the building regulations approval stage, relying on a structural engineer to produce all work relating to the super structure. At Western Building Consultants we provide structural advice on many areas, such as timber design for floors and roofs, limiting the scope of the engineers work and saving you money.
Having a large team of surveyors means that your project is unlikely to be held up due to other circumstances, there will always be at least two surveyors familiar with the project therefore continuity and a personal service will be retained. On larger schemes a bigger team will be assembled with the required specialist knowledge to fully support your project.
Merlin House
No 1 Langstone Business Park,
Priory Drive
01633982588
Commerce Park, Unit R17, Marshall Way
01373488566
Western House,
2 Rush Hill
01225789307
Sophia House,
28 Cathedral Road
02922679366
Kingston House,
Lydiard Fields
01793234516
Studio 1a,
31 Berkeley Square
0117 3294290
Unit 2, Byre Workshops, Winterbourne Court Farm Barn, Church Lane, Winterbourne
0117 3294290