Ulster Terrace Cat A Refurbishment: Listed Building Consent Secured for John Nash Terrace, Regent's Park

Listed building consent has been secured for the Cat A refurbishment of three commercial units within a Grade I listed John Nash terrace facing Regent's Park, in the Regent's Park Conservation Area, City of Westminster. 

The brief was a repositioning of an existing holding. A single large demise that had failed to let for years is being divided back into three self-contained units, each easier to understand, navigate and let. Dividing protected interiors in a Grade I listed building is not a routine consent: layouts and internal planning are protected alongside the external fabric, and the heritage case had to be made on the merits. Pre-application advice was taken with City of Westminster, and the position was not resisted: 4SA's evidence demonstrated that little historic fabric survived internally, and that re-instating separations between the units restored something closer to the original arrangement. Consent was granted quickly. 

Existing condition

Internally, the building had been largely stripped of its historic fabric by past occupants many years ago. Suspended ceilings dropped below the tops of the elegant arched street-front windows. A grid of square lighting and ceiling tiles paid little regard to the handsome exterior or the rhythm of the building. The combined demise had become disorienting and labyrinthine. 

Figure 1: The proposed finishes in the corridors. Source: 4SA

Figure 2: The existing condition of the corridors. Source: 4SA

Dividing the space, in heritage terms 

The decision to divide the space back into three smaller, easier-to-let self-contained units was made at project inception. Beyond the commercial logic, the move was positive in heritage terms: it re-instated original separations that had been lost. A fire escape strategy was developed with the project team to address the new internal arrangement. 

Services strategy

All three units were reviewed as a whole to develop an overall services strategy that responds more sympathetically to the existing building fabric while improving lighting and reducing energy consumption. Ceiling lighting is recessed into a slimmer ceiling void to maximise ceiling heights, minimise visual impact in the historic interior, and align with rather than against the rhythm of the street-front windows. Fan coil units sit opposite the window walls to avoid interrupting the remaining historic features in the space: the original timber-framed sash windows with low sill heights. A bespoke timber trunking detail, developed by 4SA with the services engineers, conceals all pipework and electrical runs. The profile matches the existing skirting to minimise visual impact. 

Figures 3 & 4: Left: Visual of the proposed corridor design. Right: The Georgian colour palette that inspired the design. Source: 4SA

Unit-by-unit interventions 

Each unit was then reviewed forensically. As is typical with heritage properties, nothing was standard across the three: ceiling heights, bay sizes and layouts varied. The proposals make a series of strategic interventions that respond to the unique features of each unit. A narrow, difficult-to-let space in one unit is enhanced by a herringbone timber floor, specified by 4SA, which increases its perceived width and improves the textural quality of the space. One-metre-deep ceiling voids above staircases in another unit are removed and rationalised to create height and unexpected drama. 

The listed building consent was secured in collaboration with the project management team at Jones Hargreaves and the planning consultants DP9. The proposals reposition the asset for the commercial market, and the project is now on site. 

Figure 5: Schmollinger map from 1833 of Regent’s Park—Ulster Terrace is at the bottom right of the park. Source: 4SA

Figure 6: Exterior of property on Ulster Terrace. Source: 4SA

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