Conservation areas
A conservation area is an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance.
Conservation areas are designated to protect their special architectural and historic interest from adverse development and encourage wherever possible their enhancement. Find out more about conservation areas.
Article 4 directions relate to conservation areas and are a legal device available to all local authorities enabling them to exert tighter controls on changes to the outside of houses facing a road or open space that could damage the character and appearance of the conservation area. It does this by requiring owners to obtain planning permission for certain types of development that would otherwise be automatically permitted. Find out more on the Planning Portal website.