Planning permission in Dacorum
Most single-storey rear extensions within the national permitted development limits don't need planning permission in Dacorum. The rules are stricter in its 23 conservation areas, where side extensions, two-storey extensions and loft dormers need permission. Check your address to see which rules apply.
Dacorum at a glance
- Conservation areas
- 23
- Article 4 areas
- Not published
- Protected landscapes
- Chilterns
- Planning decisions
- Dacorum Borough Council
How many conservation areas are there in Dacorum?
Dacorum has 23 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.
- Aldbury
- Berkhamsted
- Bovingdon
- Chipperfield
- Dudswell
- Flamsted
- Flaunden
- Frithsden
- Great Gaddesden
- Hemel Hempstead Old Town
- Kings Langley
- Little Gaddesden
- Long Marston
- Markyate
- Nettleden
- Northchurch
- Piccotts End
- Potten End
- Ringshall
- Tring
- Water End
- Wilstone
- Winkwell
Read more: extensions, loft dormers, garden rooms and solar panels in a conservation area.
Does Dacorum have Article 4 directions?
Dacorum hasn't published any Article 4 boundaries on planning.data.gov.uk. Most councils have at least one Article 4 direction, often in conservation areas, so check the council's website or ask its planning team before relying on permitted development.
What is an Article 4 direction?
Is any of Dacorum in a national park, National Landscape or green belt?
- National Landscape (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in or bordering Dacorum: Chilterns.
- There is green belt in or bordering Dacorum. 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 Dacorum
Listed buildings everywhere in England are recorded by Historic England, and the checker looks for them at every address. Dacorum doesn't publish listed building outlines, so where a listed building is recorded near an address, we ask the homeowner to check whether it's theirs.
Dacorum 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 Dacorum publish?
| Data | Status | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation area boundaries | Published | 23 |
| Article 4 direction boundaries | Not published | 0 |
| Listed building outlines | Not published | 0 |
| Tree preservation order areas | Not published | 0 |
| Protected trees | Not published | 0 |
Planning work on a home in Dacorum? Put a pin on your house and we'll check it against all of this.
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Data from planning.data.gov.uk, published by Dacorum Borough Council and national bodies under the Open Government Licence, last updated here on 31 October 2026. Dacorum Borough Council website.