Planning permission in Cheltenham

Cheltenham Borough Council decides planning applications in Cheltenham. This page shows the protected areas that affect what homeowners can build without planning permission, and the planning data Cheltenham publishes.

Conservation areas

Cheltenham has 7 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.

• Central Conservation Area
• The Bafford Conservation Area
• The Cudnall Street Conservation Area
• The Poets Conservation Area
• The Prestbury Conservation Area
• The St Marys (CK) Conservation Area
• The Swindon Village Conservation Area

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

Article 4 directions

Cheltenham has published 1 Article 4 area. Inside them, some permitted development rights are removed, so work that would normally be allowed needs planning permission.

The rights they remove most often:

• Turning a house into a small shared house (HMO) (Part 3 Class L, in 1 of the areas)

What is an Article 4 direction?

National parks, National Landscapes and green belt

• National Landscape (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in or bordering Cheltenham: Cotswolds.
• There is green belt in or bordering Cheltenham. 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

Listed buildings everywhere in England are recorded by Historic England, and the checker looks for them at every address. Cheltenham also publishes 1,133 listed building outlines, which show exactly which building is listed.

Cheltenham 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 Cheltenham publishes

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