A pane in the house: will issue of replacement windows be resolved?

Wednesday 16 February 2022

The thorny issue of replacing windows in old buildings could be settled in the next month, if States Members vote to allow those ‘beyond repair’ to be replaced with a like-for-like frame.

How old windows and doors - especially those rotten, leaky and drafty - are replaced in traditional farmhouses and other historic buildings has been a controversial subject in Jersey for decades.

Planning policy dictates that these windows and doors - timber framed and usually single-glazed – must be replaced like for like to retain the historic significance of the building.

Some homeowners and developers argue that this not only expensive to do but there exist modern double-glazed copies that adequately mimic the original designs.

St. Peter Deputy Rowland Huelin lodged an amendment to the Bridging Island Plan last July seeking to include a policy to allow double-glazing to be fitted into heritage buildings within existing windows or doors, except where the glass itself was of historic significance.

It further proposed: “The use of double-glazing in replacement windows will be supported where replacements replicate the historic window and doors as far as practicable having due regard to Jersey’s commitment to energy efficiency”.

Pictured: A "decision-tree" which Environment Minister John Young proposes using for historic window and door repair and replacement.

Following an independent review of the plan, Environment Minister John Young decided to accept the amendment but with tweaks to take account of the inspectors’ comments.

This came in the form of his own amendment, which revises the policy on historic windows and doors to allow more flexibility when managing change to them, “particularly when there is a need to address the climate emergency”.  

The minister’s updated policy would allow the retrofit of thin double-glazing within existing window and door frames to enhance their thermal performance “where replacements replicate the historic windows and doors as far as practical.”

Deputy Young said: “The inspectors are supportive of my approach and consider that the principle of only allowing the replacement of historic windows frames where they are ‘beyond repair’ is entirely reasonable and important to protect the overall appearance of historic windows.”

However, Deputy Huelin is not content that only ‘beyond repair’ windows and doors will be considered for a more-modern replacement and has submitted his own update to the Minister’s amendment.

In it, he writes: “It is very much appreciated that the Minister is happy to accept replacement windows, but this only solves half of the problem. 

“This amendment seeks to resolve the other half of the problem which is in relation to the frames. Replacing double-glazing into existing frames is neither recommended nor practical […] and waiting until a frame is ‘beyond repair’ is, therefore, not a viable option.

“Even by using modern day technological advances in glass manufacturing, existing windows cannot be up-graded by merely swapping out the historic glass for double glazed units double glazed units. Where this is attempted, the glass unit still fails over time.

“With the progress made in this field of work, and the absolute desire to reduce our carbon use, if makes no sense to not allow the total replacement of existing sash windows with new highly efficient double-glazed windows and accompanying frames which will make absolutely no aesthetic change.”

The controversial issue of replacement issues made the headlines in 2018 when St Mary resident Ivor Barette was fined £50,000 for work on his house which Planning said was unauthorised.

States Members will debate the Island Plan from 14 March over two weeks.

Deputy Huelin’s amendment is one of 99 that have been lodged so far, meaning that politicians will have to debate an average of ten a day. There are also numerous amendments to amendments to consider.