Planning permission in Plymouth
Most single-storey rear extensions within the national permitted development limits don't need planning permission in Plymouth. The rules are stricter in its 15 conservation areas, where side extensions, two-storey extensions and loft dormers need permission. Check your address to see which rules apply.
Plymouth at a glance
- Conservation areas
- 15
- Article 4 areas
- 1
- Protected landscapes
- South Devon, Tamar Valley
- Planning decisions
- Plymouth City Council
How many conservation areas are there in Plymouth?
Plymouth has 15 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.
- Adelaide Street/Clarence Place
- Barbican
- City Centre
- Devonport
- Ebrington Street
- Mannamead
- North Stonehouse
- Plympton St Maurice
- Royal Naval Hospital
- Stoke
- Stonehouse Peninsula
- Tamerton Foliot
- The Hoe
- Turnchapel
- Union Street
Read more: extensions, loft dormers, garden rooms and solar panels in a conservation area.
Does Plymouth have Article 4 directions?
Plymouth 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)
Directions listed by Plymouth:
- HMOs Mutley, Greenbank, City Centre and surrounding areas
What is an Article 4 direction?
Is any of Plymouth in a national park, National Landscape or green belt?
- National Landscapes (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in or bordering Plymouth: South Devon, Tamar Valley.
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 Plymouth
Listed buildings everywhere in England are recorded by Historic England, and the checker looks for them at every address. Plymouth also publishes 756 listed building outlines, which show exactly which building is listed.
Plymouth publishes its tree preservation orders (1,739 areas and individual trees), so we can flag protected trees near an address.
What planning data does Plymouth publish?
| Data | Status | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation area boundaries | Published | 15 |
| Article 4 direction boundaries | Published | 1 |
| Listed building outlines | Published | 756 |
| Tree preservation order areas | Published | 487 |
| Protected trees | Published | 1,252 |
Planning work on a home in Plymouth? Put a pin on your house and we'll check it against all of this.
Start a checkOther councils in South West
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
- Bristol
- Cheltenham
- Cornwall
- Cotswold
- Dorset
- East Devon
- Exeter
- Forest of Dean
- Gloucester
- Isles of Scilly
- Mid Devon
- North Devon
- North Somerset
- Somerset
- South Gloucestershire
- South Hams
- Stroud
- Swindon
- Teignbridge
- Tewkesbury
- Torbay
- Torridge
- West Devon
- Wiltshire
Data from planning.data.gov.uk, published by Plymouth City Council and national bodies under the Open Government Licence, last updated here on 30 October 2026. Plymouth City Council website.