How to get Planning Permission in Conservation Areas in London and the UK

How to get Planning Permission in Conservation Areas in London and the UK

Building a new home or making major renovations can be stressful. You need to do the correct things in the right order to make this process as smooth as possible. But if your property is in a Conservation Area, then getting planning permission is even more stressful!

You’ll also need to create a compelling application to get Planning Permission for external works to your dwelling house or building a new structure on your land.

So how can you increase your chances of approval?

Let’s explore the best ways to get Planning Permission for your extension, conversion or new build project.

What are Conservation Areas?

Conservation areas were introduced in the 1960s to preserve the particular character of a local area. By definition, a conservation area is of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance under Section 69 of The 1990 Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act.

What makes them special?

Some parts of the UK have quite unique characteristics and local authorities don’t want this to be lost or diluted by developments and alterations to existing buildings. So the purpose of conservation areas is to create additional control for new projects and to minimise the loss of existing historical buildings and natural environment.

There are now around 10,000 Conservation Areas in the country and these are managed by Conservation Officers to ensure areas maintain their character, such as:

• Centres of older cities
• Historic towns or villages
• Old suburbs of cities or large towns
• Significant landmarks
• Country estates

Conservation Areas therefore preserve and enhance the characteristics of that chosen location. These aspects are difficult to assess and measure but generally they’re indications that developers must minimise their potential development impact according to conservation area planning considerations.

Get in touch or call us on 0203 793 7878 to discover how we can help you achieve remarkable results for your conservation area project.

Permitted Development Rights in Conservation Areas

As you probably already know that certain works such as small extensions that would normally require Planning Permission are permitted by the General Permitted Development Order. This is primarily because the works are of a scale or type that is generally not likely to have an unacceptable impact.

However, Permitted Development Rights are slightly different in conservation areas compared to other areas. If your building is included in a Conservation Area, you can carry out certain works without the need to obtain Planning Permission.

However, if your building is also included in an Article 4 Direction, you would need to seek Planning Permission for certain forms of development which would not need such consents outside conservation areas. In addition, if your building is also listed, then an application for Listed Building Consent is also required.

In short: Within conservation areas, Permitted Development Rights may be restricted. You will need to seek Planning Permission for certain types of work that would not normally need permission.

Although Permitted Development Rights allow certain minor developments to take place without specific consent, this is more restricted in conservation areas.

Most of the councils withdraw Permitted Development Rights for specific development types that affect the external appearance of buildings in conservation areas by introducing Article 4 Directions.

Planning Permission secured for a building located in Conservation Area in Greenwich by Urbanist Architecture

Do I need Planning Permission in to carry out works to a house in a Conservation Area?

You will need Planning Permission for certain external works to a dwelling house in a conservation area.

Here’s the scary part: You should not demolish a building in a conservation area without the consent of your council. It is a criminal offence to fail to obtain such consent in the form of Planning Permission

Let’s jump right in.

Let’s dig a little deeper and let me show you how which types of works will require Planning Permission in Conservation Area.

Listed below are examples of types of development that you may require to seek Planning Permission. The list is not exhaustive.

• Demolition of all, and in some cases part, of any building or structure in Conservation Area.
• An extension that extends beyond the side wall of the building in Conservation Area.
• Any two-storey extension in Conservation Area.
• Cladding any part of the outside of a building with materials such as stone, artificial stone, timber, plastic or tile in Conservation Area.
• Any enlargement or extension to a roof, such as the addition of a dormer window in Conservation Area.
• An extension or alteration to any structure within the grounds of a building, if it is to the side of the house, in Conservation Area.
• The installation of a solar panel, flue, chimney or soil and vent pipe if it would face a road and is on the side or front of the building in Conservation Area.

Send us an email or call us today on 0203 793 7878 to find out how we are able to get remarkable results for those difficult planning applications time after time.

Planning Permission secured for a building located in Conservation Area in Enfield by Urbanist Architecture

Where do I need to tread carefully?

The planning authorities will take a long hard look at your plans. Conservation officers will know their area inside out and have detailed knowledge about what makes their Conservation Area special.

But here’s the interesting thing: They often believe passionately in the area they look after, so you need to know what the area stands for and how you can preserve and enhance the way it looks and feels.

There are certain aspects of the area that are sacrosanct, so take a walk around the area, look at the outcomes of other planning decisions and think about the reception that your development might receive in light of your research.

Needless to say, this is where a successful team of chartered architects and planning consultants can help you navigate the unwieldy process of getting planning permission. They will have detailed knowledge about how to make this work for Planning Permission in Conservation Area. Your architect and planning consultant would save time, money and effort by getting a development designed and explained in the right way for the Planning and Conservation officers.

A word of caution: Don’t take a chance with a planning application in a Conservation Area!

Before | Three storey building located in Conservation Area in Southwark

After | Planning Permission secured by Urbanist Architecture for the Extension to the basement floor to the rear, and construction of a two-storey and partial three-storey rear extension, together with a mansard roof extension to create two flats (1 x 1-bedroom and 1 x 2-bedroom unit) for a building located in a Conservation Area in Southwark

So, does my new design have to look old?

This is one of the most common questions we are asked. The answer might surprise you.

The good news is that there is nothing wrong with contemporary. You will not have to source windows that are hundreds of years old or the original brick that was used when the area was first built up. You don’t have to build something that is exactly the same as what is already there.

Most importantly, the consideration you must make is that the development will preserve and enhance the existing area. The secret is, if you are building something new from the ground up, then you will need to look at more of the ‘enhance’ end of the spectrum, but an adaptation to an existing property will more likely be looked at under preserve.

How can I successfully obtain permission for a controversial design?

First, as always, you want to be sure you’ve hired an RIBA chartered architecture and planning practice with experience in conservation area projects. Let me say this straight: With the right help, your chances of success can go way up.

Second, you’ll want to seek out pre-application advice from your local council, using state-of-the-art OS maps and carefully taken photos to offer them views of the property and the surrounding area. You’ll also need your architects and planning consultants to prepare your preliminary planning drawings, write your Design & Access and Heritage Statements, and present your case in a manner that is convincing and compelling. We can’t emphasise enough how crucial this is for your case. Following the pre-application meeting, your architects and planning consultants can develop your case further according to the planning officers’ input. By doing this, the planning officers will be more likely to offer their support when the time comes.

A word of caution: If you work with architects and planning consultants who don’t have experience in conservation area projects, then you may spend weeks putting together a design scheme, only to find that you’ll need to make countless modifications. What’s more, once the officer has flagged your initial design as being out of character with the area, they may continue the process with a bias against your project. Make no mistake about it.

Finally, when it comes to submitting your application, you’ll need to provide designs that are of a supremely high quality. With a normal application, you can get away with simple elevation designs and floor plans, but with a conservation area application, you’ll need to include 3D designs, perspective drawings and coloured elevations that are vivid and easy to understand. With excellent drawings, your planning officer will be more likely to approve your planning application.

Here’s the big idea: If your application goes to the planning committee – which is usually comprised of people without a design background – having user-friendly designs can go a long way toward helping the committee understand and support your proposal.

What hoops do I have to jump through to get Planning Permission in Conservation Area?

As we said earlier, the Conservation Officers will have a strong link to their given area, so you will need to keep them on-side if you want an application to be successful. But they are a helpful bunch. So, get in touch with your local officer as early as possible to talk over your plans and seek their advice. You can have a chat and find out the way they are thinking, and this could stop a lot of changing at the end of the process.

But that’s not all…

The bottom line is this: You need to ensure that your application shows off how well it helps the local area and how in keeping it is with what’s already there. The way in which your application is presented is crucial to get Planning Permission in Conservation Area. The better the work that your architect puts together, the more chance you have of it being successful

Your planning application for development in a conservation area will be measured against some pretty high standards. So choose architects and designers that are up to the challenge. Imagine what it would be like to secure Planning Permission in Conservation Area for your extension or new build project.

Send us an email or call us today on 0203 793 7878 to find out how we are able to get remarkable results for those difficult planning applications time after time.