Side extensions in a conservation area: do you need planning permission?
Side extensions aren't permitted development in a conservation area, so you'll need planning permission for any side extension, however small. This is one of the clearest differences between conservation areas and everywhere else.
The gaps between houses are often part of what gives a conservation area its character, which is why the side extension right is removed. A side extension is still possible, but it goes through a householder planning application, where the council considers its design, materials and effect on the street.
What tends to help an application in a conservation area:
- Keeping the extension set back from the front of the house and lower than the main roof, so the original house still reads clearly.
- Matching materials, such as brick, stone, roof tiles and window styles, to the house and the street.
- Reading the council's conservation area appraisal, if it has one, which describes what the council considers important about the area.
If you only need extra space at the back, a single-storey rear extension may still be permitted development in a conservation area, within the standard limits.
What changes in a conservation area?
These are the rules that apply only in a conservation area. Everything in the standard limits for side extensions still applies as well.
- Side extensions aren't permitted development in a conservation area, National Landscape, national park or World Heritage Site. Class A.2(b)
- In a conservation area you must give the council six weeks' notice before cutting down or pruning most trees, even ones without a tree preservation order.
Not sure whether your home is in a conservation area? Find your council to see the protected areas and Article 4 directions it has published, or start a check to look up your exact address.
Check your own address: put a pin on your house and we'll look up the conservation areas, listed buildings, Article 4 directions and other designations there.
Check my side extension