Planning permission in Central Bedfordshire

Most single-storey rear extensions within the national permitted development limits don't need planning permission in Central Bedfordshire. The rules are stricter in its 60 conservation areas, where side extensions, two-storey extensions and loft dormers need permission. Check your address to see which rules apply.

Central Bedfordshire at a glance

Conservation areas: 60
Article 4 areas: 7
Protected landscapes: Chilterns
Planning decisions: Central Bedfordshire Council

How many conservation areas are there in Central Bedfordshire?

Central Bedfordshire has 60 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.

Ampthill Conservation Area
Aspley Guise Conservation Area
Aspley Heath Conservation Area
Astwick Conservation Area
Barton Conservation Area
Biggleswade Conservation Area
Billington Conservation Area
Blunham Conservation Area
Caddington Conservation Area
Church End, Hockliffe Conservation Area
Clifton Conservation Area
Clophill Conservation Area
Dunstable Conservation Area
Eaton Bray Conservation Area
Eggington Conservation Area
Eversholt (Church End) Conservation Area
Flitton Conservation Area
Harlington Conservation Area
Haynes (Church End) Conservation Area
Heath & Reach Conservation Area
Henlow Conservation Area
Houghton Regis Conservation Area
Husborne Crawley Conservation Area
Ickwell Conservation Area
Kensworth Church End Conservation Area
Kensworth Lynch Conservation Area
Leighton Conservation Area
Linslade Conservation Area
Luton Hoo Conservation Area
Maulden Conservation Area
Meppershall Conservation Area
Millbrook Conservation Area
Milton Bryan Conservation Area
Northill Conservation Area
Old Warden and Old Warden Park Conservation Area
Potton Conservation Area
Pulloxhill Conservation Area
Ridgmont Conservation Area
Sandy Conservation Area
Sewell Conservation Area
Shefford Conservation Area
Shillington (Aspley End) Conservation Area
Shillington Conservation Area
Silsoe Conservation Area
Southcott Village Conservation Area
Southill Conservation Area
Steppingley Conservation Area
Streatley Conservation Area
Studham Conservation Area
Sutton Conservation Area
Tebworth Conservation Area
Tempsford (Church End) Conservation Area
Tempsford (Langford End) Conservation Area
Tingrith Conservation Area
Toddington Conservation Area
Totternhoe Conservation Area
Whipsnade Conservation Area
Woburn Conservation Area
Wrestlingworth Conservation Area
Wrest Park Conservation Area

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

Does Central Bedfordshire have Article 4 directions?

Central Bedfordshire has published 7 Article 4 areas. Inside them, some permitted development rights are removed, so work that would normally be allowed needs planning permission.

7 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 Central Bedfordshire:

Fairfield Parish
Husborne Crawley Conservation Area
Land at Lower Sundon
Land south west of Westfield Farm, Hitchin Road, Henlow Camp, Bedfordshire
Land to the north, south and east of the Sandhouse Public House, Watling Street, Heath and Reach
Toddington Conservation Area
Wrest Park Estate, Silsoe, Bedfordshire

What is an Article 4 direction?

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

National Landscape (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in or bordering Central Bedfordshire: Chilterns.
There is green belt in or bordering Central Bedfordshire. Householder permitted development rights apply as normal in the green belt, but if you need planning permission, green belt policy limits how much a home can be enlarged.

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 Central Bedfordshire

Listed buildings everywhere in England are recorded by Historic England, and the checker looks for them at every address. Central Bedfordshire also publishes 1,918 listed building outlines, which show exactly which building is listed.

Central Bedfordshire doesn't publish its tree preservation orders as data. If there are mature trees near your project, ask the council whether any are protected before you start.

What planning data does Central Bedfordshire publish?

Planning data published by Central Bedfordshire Council
Data	Status	Records
Conservation area boundaries	Published	61
Article 4 direction boundaries	Published	7
Listed building outlines	Published	1,918
Tree preservation order areas	Not published	0
Protected trees	Not published	0

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

Start a check

Other councils in East of England

Data from planning.data.gov.uk, published by Central Bedfordshire Council and national bodies under the Open Government Licence, last updated here on 30 October 2026. Central Bedfordshire Council website.