Things To Bear In Mind When Living In A Conservation Area

If your home sits within a conservation area, or you think that it may do, and you wish to make some changes to the property, you can’t just go ahead and do them. You need to get in contact with your local planning authority beforehand.

If the changes proposed involve some form of demolition, then planning permission will have to be obtained in the following cases:

– Where a building spanning a volume of more than 115 cubic metres is being demolished. It is worth checking with your council to see if this rule applies as it does differ in certain areas.

– Where there’s planned demolition of a gate, fence, wall or railing over 1 metre high sitting next to a highway or public open space (includes public footpaths and bridleways). 2 metres high is the stipulation elsewhere.

The above not applicable to your home? It is still worth checking to see if you are required to lodge an application for the work to be done.

The First Secretary of State is who you need to appeal to should your application be refused, have conditions added to it, or if it has not been determined within 8 weeks of it being validated by the council.

The buck always stops with you, the homeowner, when it comes to complying with any planning rules or laws. Failure to do so could prove to be a very expensive mistake on your part as you will be responsible for any necessary remedial work. You may even be ordered to demolish any work you’ve had done without permission.

This is why it is always best to discuss such work with your Local Planning Authority and Building Control Service first as they’re the ones with the power where planning is concerned and can supply you with any essential advice and guidance.