Planning permission in Worthing

Most single-storey rear extensions within the national permitted development limits don't need planning permission in Worthing. The rules are stricter in its 26 conservation areas, where side extensions, two-storey extensions and loft dormers need permission. 4 of its Article 4 areas remove some or all house extension rights. Check your address to see which rules apply.

Worthing at a glance

Conservation areas: 26
Article 4 areas: 8
Protected landscapes: South Downs
Planning decisions: Worthing Borough Council

How many conservation areas are there in Worthing?

Worthing 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.

Broadwater
Broadwater Green
Chapel Road
Durrington
Farncombe Road
Goring
Goring Hall
Heene
Highdown
Ivy Place
Little High Street
Marine Gardens
Marine Parade and Hinterland
Mill Road
Montague Street
Park Crescent
Richmond Road
Robson Road
Salvington
Shaftesbury Avenue
Shakespeare Road
South Street
Steyne Gardens
Warwick Gardens
West Tarring
Winchester Road

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

Does Worthing have Article 4 directions?

Worthing has published 8 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 7 of the areas)
Hard surfaces, such as paved driveways (Part 1 Class F, in 6 of the areas)
House extensions (Part 1 Class A, in 4 of the areas)
Garden buildings and outbuildings (Part 1 Class E, in 4 of the areas)
Painting the outside of a building (Part 2 Class C, in 4 of the areas)
Loft dormers and other roof extensions (Part 1 Class B, in 3 of the areas)
Other roof alterations, such as rooflights (Part 1 Class C, in 3 of the areas)
Porches (Part 1 Class D, in 3 of the areas)
New access onto a road (Part 2 Class B, in 2 of the areas)
Part 6 Class A (Part 6 Class A, in 1 of the areas)

Directions listed by Worthing:

Ambrose Place
Church Road, Tarring
Cowper Road
Land West of the Plantation
Tudor Cottage, the Heights
Warwick Gardens
Warwick Place
Western Row

What is an Article 4 direction?

Is any of Worthing in a national park, National Landscape or green belt?

National park in or bordering Worthing: South 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 Worthing

Listed buildings everywhere in England are recorded by Historic England, and the checker looks for them at every address. Worthing also publishes 217 listed building outlines, which show exactly which building is listed.

Worthing publishes its tree preservation orders (5,382 areas and individual trees), so we can flag protected trees near an address.

What planning data does Worthing publish?

Planning data published by Worthing Borough Council
Data	Status	Records
Conservation area boundaries	Published	26
Article 4 direction boundaries	Published	8
Listed building outlines	Published	217
Tree preservation order areas	Published	1,292
Protected trees	Published	4,090

Planning work on a home in Worthing? Put a pin on your house and we'll check it against all of this.

Start a check

Other councils in South East

Data from planning.data.gov.uk, published by Worthing Borough Council and national bodies under the Open Government Licence, last updated here on 31 October 2026. Worthing Borough Council website.