Planning permission in Milton Keynes
Most single-storey rear extensions within the national permitted development limits don't need planning permission in Milton Keynes. The rules are stricter in its 27 conservation areas, where side extensions, two-storey extensions and loft dormers need permission. Check your address to see which rules apply.
Milton Keynes at a glance
- Conservation areas
- 27
- Article 4 areas
- 19
- Protected landscapes
- None
- Planning decisions
- Milton Keynes City Council
How many conservation areas are there in Milton Keynes?
Milton Keynes has 27 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.
- Bletchley
- Bradwell
- Broughton
- Calverton
- Castlethorpe
- Clifton Reynes
- Emberton
- Great Linford
- Hanslope
- Lavendon
- Little Brickhill
- Loughton
- Milton Keynes Village
- Newport Pagnell
- Newton Blossomville
- North Crawley
- Olney
- Ravenstone
- Shenley Church End
- Sherington
- Stoke Goldington
- Stony Stratford
- Weston Underwood
- Willen
- Woburn Sands
- Wolverton
- Woughton-on-the-Green
Read more: extensions, loft dormers, garden rooms and solar panels in a conservation area.
Does Milton Keynes have Article 4 directions?
Milton Keynes has published 19 Article 4 areas. Inside them, some permitted development rights are removed, so work that would normally be allowed needs planning permission.
2 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 Milton Keynes:
- Article 4 Direction relating to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HIMO) - Immediate direction
- Article 4 Direction relating to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HIMO) - Non immediate direction
What is an Article 4 direction?
Is any of Milton Keynes in a national park, National Landscape or green belt?
- There is green belt in or bordering Milton Keynes. 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 in Milton Keynes
Listed buildings everywhere in England are recorded by Historic England, and the checker looks for them at every address. Milton Keynes also publishes 1,001 listed building outlines, which show exactly which building is listed.
Milton Keynes publishes its tree preservation orders (2,366 areas and individual trees), so we can flag protected trees near an address.
What planning data does Milton Keynes publish?
| Data | Status | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation area boundaries | Published | 27 |
| Article 4 direction boundaries | Published | 19 |
| Listed building outlines | Published | 1,001 |
| Tree preservation order areas | Published | 322 |
| Protected trees | Published | 2,044 |
Planning work on a home in Milton Keynes? Put a pin on your house and we'll check it against all of this.
Start a checkOther councils in South East
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Data from planning.data.gov.uk, published by Milton Keynes City Council and national bodies under the Open Government Licence, last updated here on 31 October 2026. Milton Keynes City Council website.