Planning permission in Coventry

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

Conservation areas

Coventry has 18 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.

• Allesley Village Conservation Area
• Brownshill Green Conservation Area
• Chapelfields Conservation Area
• Coventry Canal Conservation Area
• Earlsdon Conservation Area
• Far Gosford Street Conservation Area
• Greyfriars Green Conservation Area
• Hawksbury Junction Conservation Area
• High Street Conservation Area
• Hill Top Conservation Area
• Ivy Farm Lane (Canley Hamlet) Conservation Area
• Kenilworth Road Conservation Area
• Lady Herbert's Garden and the Burges Conservation Area
• London Road Conservation Area
• Naul's Mill Conservation Area
• Spon End Conservation Area
• Spon Street Conservation Area
• Stoke Green Conservation Area

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

Article 4 directions

Coventry has published 14 Article 4 areas. Inside them, some permitted development rights are removed, so work that would normally be allowed needs planning permission.

The rights they remove most often:

• Part 11 Class B (Part 11 Class B, in 4 of the areas)
• Walls, fences and gates (Part 2 Class A, in 4 of the areas)
• Hard surfaces, such as paved driveways (Part 1 Class F, in 3 of the areas)
• Solar panels on buildings (Part 14 Class A, in 2 of the areas)
• Other roof alterations, such as rooflights (Part 1 Class C, in 2 of the areas)
• Part 2 Class F (Part 2 Class F, in 2 of the areas)
• Porches (Part 1 Class D, in 2 of the areas)
• Part 7 Class E (Part 7 Class E, in 2 of the areas)
• New access onto a road (Part 2 Class B, in 2 of the areas)
• Part 31 Class A (Part 31 Class A, in 2 of the areas)

Directions listed by Coventry:

• Black Horse, 73 Spon End
• Brownshill Green
• Copsewood Grange and Lodge, New Century Park, Allard Way
• Earlsdon
• HMO - 30.9.23
• Lady Herberts Garden and the Burges
• Land at 6 the Firs
• Land at 23 (Bank House), 25 and 29 Warwick Road, Coventry, CV1 2EZ
• Matrix, Churchill Car Park
• St. Nicholas Church
• Stoneleigh Road
• United Reform Church, Hawkes Mill Lane
• Washbrook Lane

What is an Article 4 direction?

National parks, National Landscapes and green belt

• There is green belt in or bordering Coventry. 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.

Listed buildings and protected trees

Listed buildings everywhere in England are recorded by Historic England, and the checker looks for them at every address. Coventry also publishes 313 listed building outlines, which show exactly which building is listed.

Coventry publishes its tree preservation orders (2,746 areas and individual trees), so we can flag protected trees near an address.

What Coventry publishes

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