Owning your own home

Just had a planning application for double glazed windows rejected.

Anyone have experience of this?

Grade 2* listed property in Brighton with sash windows, albeit with non-original rotting sashes and sills.

I got a company which does "heritage sash window restorations" over to quote for new heritage slimline units and had an architect make drawings and submit the application. The property survey said double glazed windows are the primary cause of poor energy efficiency (they are full of gaps and the panes are ice cold in the winter).

The planning office guidance only has 1 paragraph on the subject and says

"Slim double glazed units fitted within existing frames are only likely to be acceptable where there would be no loss of historic detail or fabric and where uniformity of elevations would be maintained."

The response of the planning office was just to refer to this guidance and say that they resist double glazing in listed properties, no further detail.

Historic England on the other hand just published new guidance which says slimline double glazed units should generally be acceptable (link)

£400 for the application and £400 for the architect (who was open about the lottery in result tbf).

Meanwhile one neighbour has blocked in a window without permission and another has turned a window into a door to use my roof as a terrace also without permission.

I jump through all the hoops to fulfil the requirements as best I can and I lose £800, 3 months of waiting and I can't insulate my freezing cold flat with huge 3m high windows. And they don't tell me why!