Planning permission in Swale
Most single-storey rear extensions within the national permitted development limits don't need planning permission in Swale. The rules are stricter in its 52 conservation areas, where side extensions, two-storey extensions and loft dormers need permission. 1 of its Article 4 areas remove some or all house extension rights. Check your address to see which rules apply.
Swale at a glance
- Conservation areas
- 52
- Article 4 areas
- 22
- Protected landscapes
- Kent Downs
- Planning decisions
- Swale Borough Council
How many conservation areas are there in Swale?
Swale has 52 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.
- Badlesmere
- Bexon
- Borden - Chestnut Street
- Borden - Harmans Corner
- Borden - Hearts Delight
- Borden - the Street
- Boughton - Boughton Church
- Boughton - Boughton Street
- Boughton - South Street
- Bredgar
- Cellar Hill and Greenstreet, Teynham
- Doddington and Newnham
- Eastling
- Faversham - Faversham Town
- Faversham - Ospringe
- Faversham - Preston-next-Faversham
- Goodnestone
- Graveney - Graveney Bridge
- Graveney - Graveney Church
- Hartlip
- Hernhill
- Hernhill - Dargate
- Hernhill - Fostall
- Kingsdown
- Lewson Street
- Lower Halstow
- Lynsted - Bogle
- Lynsted - the Street
- Milstead
- Milton Regis - High Street
- Newington - High Street
- Newington - Newington Manor
- Newington Church
- Painter's Forstal
- Queenborough
- Rodmersham Church Street
- Rodmersham Green
- Selling
- Selling - Shepherd's Hill
- Sheerness : Marine Town
- Sheerness : Mile Town
- Sheerness : Royal Naval Dockyard and Bluetown
- Sheldwich
- Sittingbourne
- Stalisfield Green
- Staplestreet
- Syndale
- Throwley Forstal
- Tonge
- Tunstall
- Upchurch
- Whitehill
Read more: extensions, loft dormers, garden rooms and solar panels in a conservation area.
Does Swale have Article 4 directions?
Swale has published 22 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:
- House extensions (Part 1 Class A, in 1 of the areas)
- Part 4 Class B (Part 4 Class B, in 1 of the areas)
20 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 Swale:
- 1 and 2 Flint Cottages
- 20 East Street
- 43-47, 49-51, 54, 56, 57, 59-72 Marine Parade
- 49, 88, 90, 104, 114-128(evens), 132-140(evens) the Street and 1 & 2 Chapel Cottages
- 84 Scarborough Drive
- Fairmeadow
- Faversham Conservation Area
- Faversham Conservation Area (unit 8, Granville House)
- Land at Little Coxett Farm
- Land at Oare Creek
- Land at the Whitstable Bay Estate
- Land between Brielle Way and Sterling Road
- Land in and around Dargate
- Land on east side of South Bush Lane (aka Land at Spade Lane)
- Land South East of Kingsborough Manor
- Land South of Denstroude Lane
- Land West of Cedar Cottage
- No's 43 - 72 (ALL) Marine Parade
- Perry Wood and Conduit Wood, Selling
- Sweepstakes Farm, Lower Hartlip Road, Hartlip
- The Viking Caravan Site and Seasalter Meadow Estate, Seasalter Road, Graveney
- The Willow Beds
What is an Article 4 direction?
Is any of Swale in a national park, National Landscape or green belt?
- National Landscape (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in or bordering Swale: Kent Downs.
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 Swale
Listed buildings everywhere in England are recorded by Historic England, and the checker looks for them at every address. Swale also publishes 1,443 listed building outlines, which show exactly which building is listed.
Swale publishes its tree preservation orders (1,986 areas and individual trees), so we can flag protected trees near an address.
What planning data does Swale publish?
| Data | Status | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation area boundaries | Published | 52 |
| Article 4 direction boundaries | Published | 22 |
| Listed building outlines | Published | 1,443 |
| Tree preservation order areas | Published | 390 |
| Protected trees | Published | 1,596 |
Planning work on a home in Swale? 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 Swale Borough Council and national bodies under the Open Government Licence, last updated here on 30 October 2026. Swale Borough Council website.