Month: December 2025

For 9 years we have been ‘festivising’ (totally new word we made up!) our buildings for our annual Christmas card, so we thought we would put them all together in a montage! These are some of the projects we are most proud of, and they can all be found on our website.

We are looking forward to some well earned time off with our friends and families, enjoying food and fun, and we hope you are too.

Christmas Opening Hours
This year we will be closed from 12pm on Christmas Eve (Wed 24th) and we will re-open at 8.30am on Friday 2nd January 2026.  

Wishing you everything you are wishing for from this festive season, and our very best wishes for a prosperous 2026,

The Thinking Buildings Team

What a great time we all had last week at our Christmas party!

We visited the National Justice Museum in the Lace Market in Nottingham and took part in a 1930’s murder mystery! We explored this Grade II* listed building, housing a Victorian courtroom and basement gaol cells, quizzing the suspects in order to make our deductions.

Over a delicious dinner in the grand entrance hall, we gathered further evidence and made our accusations. After a little bit of competitive rivalry, both teams were correct in naming the suspect, and our very own resident Miss Marple, Bethan, was so exemplary in her evidence gathering and recording that she won the champagne prize! Highly deserved.

We revelled into the night at the Pitcher and Piano, where there were some highly entertaining cocktail makers, and we all made it down to breakfast the following morning in the lovely Lace Market Hotel where we were staying.

We love to treat our team and their partners at this time of year. It’s so great for us to get together, and have fun and laughs away from the office. Our secret Santa gift exchange is always a real highlight, usually for the wrong reasons, and this year was no different!

Thanks team for another great year, and a Merry Christmas to you all from us!

We’re delighted to have submitted a planning application in the beautiful Derbyshire Dales for a new contemporary extension. The extension will be to the rear of a cottage within a Conservation Area.

The existing cottage is very linear, with rooms front and back of the house. The new extension will widen the footprint to the rear of the house, allowing for an additional bedroom and new living space flooded with light to allow views over the Derbyshire Dales.

If you live in a Conservation Area, planning rules are stricter to help protect its historic and architectural character. This means you’ll often need permission for extensions, demolitions, replacing windows or roofs, and even for works to trees. Councils may also restrict minor changes through Article 4 Directions, so it’s always best to check with your local planning authority before carrying out any work.