How to get Planning Permission in a Conservation Area

UK conservation areas were conceived in 1967 in order to preserve and enhance regions of special architectural or historic interest. That’s the official description, which makes it sound rather simple and obvious. Unsurprisingly, the reality is a little more complex when it comes to self-building in these zones.

More than 50 years after being introduced, they are a well-established feature of the planning system, but individual councils’ interpretation of the phrase ‘preserve and enhance’ differs wildly.

So if you’re going to build a new house in a conservation area, then you’ll need to do thorough preparation and research before any design work begins. Here are the main considerations.

What spaces are protected?

There are over 10,000 conservation areas in the UK, which is made up of around 9,300 in England, 500 in Wales, 650 in Scotland and 60 in Northern Ireland. These zones can cover historic land, battlefields, public parks, designed landscapes or railways.

They usually encompass groups of buildings, which vary in character, form and size, from small clusters of historic structures right through to whole sections of towns and cities.

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