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Planning permission in Ashford

Most single-storey rear extensions within the national permitted development limits don't need planning permission in Ashford. The rules are stricter in its 44 conservation areas, where side extensions, two-storey extensions and loft dormers need permission. Check your address to see which rules apply.

Ashford at a glance

Conservation areas
44
Article 4 areas
75
Protected landscapes
High Weald, Kent Downs
Planning decisions
Ashford Borough Council

How many conservation areas are there in Ashford?

Ashford has 44 conservation areas. In a conservation area, permitted development rights are reduced: side extensions, two-storey extensions, loft dormers and cladding all need planning permission, and many councils add Article 4 directions on top.

Read more: extensions, loft dormers, garden rooms and solar panels in a conservation area.

Does Ashford have Article 4 directions?

Ashford has published 75 Article 4 areas. Inside them, some permitted development rights are removed, so work that would normally be allowed needs planning permission.

75 of the published areas don't say which rights they remove. Our checker tells people at those addresses to check with the council.

Directions listed by Ashford:

And 8 more.

What is an Article 4 direction?

Is any of Ashford in a national park, National Landscape or green belt?

National parks and National Landscapes restrict permitted development in similar ways to conservation areas. Read more: extensions, loft dormers and garden rooms.

Listed buildings and protected trees in Ashford

Listed buildings everywhere in England are recorded by Historic England, and the checker looks for them at every address. Ashford also publishes 2,410 listed building outlines, which show exactly which building is listed.

Ashford publishes its tree preservation orders (1,543 areas and individual trees), so we can flag protected trees near an address.

What planning data does Ashford publish?

DataStatusRecords
Conservation area boundaries Published 44
Article 4 direction boundaries Published 75
Listed building outlines Published 2,410
Tree preservation order areas Published 319
Protected trees Published 1,224

Planning work on a home in Ashford? Put a pin on your house and we'll check it against all of this.

Start a check

Other councils in South East

Data from planning.data.gov.uk, published by Ashford Borough Council and national bodies under the Open Government Licence, last updated here on 31 October 2026. Ashford Borough Council website.