Planning permission in Wirral

Wirral Borough Council decides planning applications in Wirral. This page shows the protected areas that affect what homeowners can build without planning permission, and the planning data Wirral publishes.

Conservation areas

Wirral has 26 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.

• Barnston Conservation Area
• Bidston Village Conservation Area
• Birkenhead Park Conservation Area
• Bromborough Pool Conservation Area
• Bromborough Village Conservation Area
• Caldy Conservation Area
• Clifton Park Conservation Area
• Eastham Village Conservation Area
• Flaybrick Hill Conservation Area
• Frankby Conservation Area
• Gayton Conservation Area
• Hamilton Square Conservation Area
• Heswall Lower Village Conservation Area
• Lower Bebington Conservation Area
• Meols Drive Conservation Area
• Mountwood Conservation Area
• Oxton Village Conservation Area
• Port Sunlight Conservation Area
• Rock Park Conservation Area
• Saughall Massie Conservation Area
• The Kings Gap Conservation Area
• The Magazines Conservation Area
• Thornton Hough Conservation Area
• Thurstaston Conservation Area
• Wellington Road Conservation Area
• West Kirby Conservation Area

Read more: extensions, loft dormers, garden rooms and solar panels in a conservation area.

Article 4 directions

Wirral has published 13 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:

• Walls, fences and gates (Part 2 Class A, in 8 of the areas)
• House extensions (Part 1 Class A, in 2 of the areas)
• Loft dormers and other roof extensions (Part 1 Class B, in 2 of the areas)
• Other roof alterations, such as rooflights (Part 1 Class C, in 2 of the areas)
• Porches (Part 1 Class D, in 2 of the areas)
• Satellite dishes and antennas (Part 1 Class H, in 2 of the areas)
• Garden buildings and outbuildings (Part 1 Class E, in 1 of the areas)
• Hard surfaces, such as paved driveways (Part 1 Class F, in 1 of the areas)
• Chimneys, flues and soil pipes (Part 1 Class G, in 1 of the areas)
• Part 4 Class B (Part 4 Class B, in 1 of the areas)

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 Wirral:

• 18 Manor Drive, Upton
• 29 Shore Drive, New Ferry
• Bromborough Pool Village
• Bromborough Village
• Caldy/Thurstaston. Article 4 Direction 1985
• Heswall & Thurstaston
• Land adj: Hooton Mount Cottage, Eastham Village Road
• Land at the Dales, Heswall
• Pipers Lane, Heswall. Article 4 Direction 1993
• Pipers Lane Heswall
• Tower Stadium, New Brighton

What is an Article 4 direction?

National parks, National Landscapes and green belt

• There is green belt in or bordering Wirral. 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

Listed buildings everywhere in England are recorded by Historic England, and the checker looks for them at every address. Wirral also publishes 731 listed building outlines, which show exactly which building is listed.

Wirral publishes its tree preservation orders (7,013 areas and individual trees), so we can flag protected trees near an address.

What Wirral publishes

Data from planning.data.gov.uk, published by Wirral Borough Council and national bodies under the Open Government Licence, last updated here on 30 October 2026. Wirral Borough Council website.