Planning permission in Portsmouth
Portsmouth City Council decides planning applications in Portsmouth. This page shows the protected areas that affect what homeowners can build without planning permission, and the planning data Portsmouth publishes.
Conservation areas
Portsmouth has 25 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.
- Campbell Road, Southsea
- Castle Road
- Craneswater and Eastern Parade, Southsea
- Eastney Barracks
- East Southsea
- Essex Road
- Guildhall and Victoria Park
- Gunwharf
- Highland Terrace
- Hilsea Lines
- HM Naval Base and St George's Square
- King Street
- Mile End, Landport
- Milton Locks
- Old Portsmouth
- Old Wymering
- Owen's Southsea
- Portsea
- Rochester Road
- St Andrew's Church, Eastney
- Stanley Street, Southsea
- St David's Road, Southsea
- St Mary's Churchyard, Fratton
- The Sea Front, Southsea
- TheTerraces
Read more: extensions, loft dormers, garden rooms and solar panels in a conservation area.
Article 4 directions
Portsmouth 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?
National parks, National Landscapes and green belt
There are no national parks, National Landscapes, World Heritage Sites or green belt in or bordering Portsmouth.
Listed buildings and protected trees
Listed buildings everywhere in England are recorded by Historic England, and the checker looks for them at every address. Portsmouth 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.
Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth publishes
| Data | Status | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation area boundaries | Published | 25 |
| 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 Portsmouth? Put a pin on your house and we'll check it against all of this.
Start a checkData from planning.data.gov.uk, published by Portsmouth City Council and national bodies under the Open Government Licence, last updated here on 30 October 2026. Portsmouth City Council website.