Guides · 5 min
Conservation areas
A conservation area does not ban extensions. It does make the visible ones harder.
What changes
A conservation area is a place the council has marked for its character. You can still extend, but the design test is stricter, and some permitted development rights are reduced. Roof work and side extensions are the rights people most often lose.
Demolishing even a small garden wall, or a chimney, can need consent. Painting, new windows and satellite dishes are watched more closely too.
The edge of the area
Streets just outside the boundary are not in it. A house on the edge can still be looked at with the area in mind if the extension is easy to see from inside it.
Ask for the council’s conservation area appraisal. It says what they think matters: roof shapes, front gardens, gaps between houses.
Check with your council. Rules change, and every house is different.
Questions
Can I do a rear extension in a conservation area?
Often yes, especially at the back where it is not seen from the street. It may need an application even if the same job would not, outside the area.
Does the whole postcode sit in one?
No. The boundary can run down the middle of a district. Check the address.
Check with your council. Rules change, and every house is different.