Planning FAQ
Can I extend in a conservation area?
Yes, but with restricted PD rights. Heritage Statement required. Materials must match. Design must respect conservation area character.
Yes, but with restricted PD rights. Heritage Statement required. Materials must match. Design must respect conservation area character.
Yes. Conservation area designation removes some permitted development rights but not the right to apply. A single-storey rear extension within the normal 3 m or 4 m depth usually remains permitted development; side extensions, cladding, most roof extensions and rear dormers do not.
Side extensions under Class A, cladding and rendering, roof extensions and dormers under Class B, chimneys and flues on a wall or roof slope fronting a highway, and the larger home extension prior approval route. Rear dormers are the loss most London homeowners feel, because it turns a permitted loft into a full application.
A single-storey rear extension within the standard depth limits, rooflights that project no more than 150 mm beyond the roof plane, outbuildings within the usual limits at the rear, and all internal alterations — a conservation area is not a listing, so the interior of an unlisted house is unaffected.
The statutory test is whether the proposal preserves or enhances the character or appearance of the area. Officers look at the street elevation first, then materials, then the rear. The borough's conservation area appraisal is the single most useful document to read before designing: it names the prevailing roof form, window pattern and boundary treatments.
Tree work needs six weeks' written notice. Demolition of a building over 115 m³, or of a wall over 1 m high adjoining a highway, needs planning permission for relevant demolition. And Article 4 directions are more common inside conservation areas than outside them.
How can i extend in a conservation area? plays out in Wandsworth: London Borough of Wandsworth (Wandsworth Council) maintains 45 conservation areas, the Wandsworth Common Conservation Area and the Clapham Common West Conservation Area among them, and an Article 4 direction is in force there, so permitted development cannot be assumed. Anyone dealing with can i extend in a conservation area? at a Wandsworth address is therefore working to a £548 householder application decided in 8 weeks, or a £249 prior approval over 6 weeks where can i extend in a conservation area? still qualifies. are the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the GPDO 2015 and the Building Regulations 2010.
| Statutory test | Preserve or enhance character and appearance |
|---|---|
| Rear dormer | Permitted development withdrawn |
| Single-storey rear extension | Usually still permitted |
| Tree work notice | 6 weeks |
| Demolition threshold | 115 m³, or a wall over 1 m by a highway |
| Application fee | £548 |
Usually yes on rear slopes; officers commonly expect flush conservation-style units.
Not by conservation area designation — only listing protects interiors.
Usually like for like; an Article 4 direction may require an application.
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