Conservation area issues?

poppysarah

Never lived in one - what's the usual sort of stuff? Just to not change outward appearance of property?

Have looked on the authoritys website but found nothing in particular apart from some history of the area (which is nice) ....

MrsManda

Conservation areas are under LA control so I think different LAs have different rules. You may have rules on alterations to the outside your property such as windows, satelite dishes, trees, walls and gates, extensions are likely to be turned down.

On the plus side if you buy a house with a view it's less likely that permission will be granted to build anything which disrupts that view

Blodwen

I live in conservation area and there doesn't really seem to be any restrictions - there are plenty of satellite dishes, people changing their doors and windows etc. The council have done work to improve the fronts of some houses to make the more similar to each other and more in keeping with the original style, but they don't seem to have particular rules about what people do to theirs (one person a few streets away painted their bricks purple, orange and a few other colours, but the council may have had words, I don't know!)

datostar

As well as conforming with the usual local planning strictures, changes within a Conservation Area should also 'enhance the area'. You have to be very careful with trees because even if not subject to individual Tree Preservation Orders you need to notify the Planning Dept of your intention to work on them. If they don't like what you propose they can apply a TPO, then your only option is to appeal against it. Councils vary in their approach to this. I recently put in the form, along with a plan and photograph of the offending branch, to prune back a single branch of a black poplar in my back garden by about 12 feet. They went through the full rigmarole of writing to the neighbours, sticking a notice on a nearby lamp post etc. 6 weeks later they told me they had no objection to the proposed tree works but if not carried out within 5 years I would have to start the process again.
Little tricks here can help, e.g. if low growth is catching on vehicles passing underneath, it's better to say that the tree might suffer damage, rather than the vehicles!
Our Conservation Area was applied about 3 years ago, so we haven't had those restrictions all the time we've liver there. On balance, I think it's a good thing. It saves you from the more outlandish residential and commercial developments in the vicinity.

cattie

I've lived in 2 different conservation area's & as others have mentioned, there are restrictions on such things as the type of replacement windows you can have, where you can site satelite dishes etc.

Where I currently live, the cottage style houses have to be painted from a limited choice of neutral colours & if roofs are retiled we have to choose tiles that are very similar to the originals.
Permission has to be sought for such things as having a porch added to the house & they tend to now only allow open sided porches. If trees in the garden need to be cut back then written permission for this has to be obtained.

I've always enjoyed living in conservation areas as you know that there is little chance of your area having it's character destroyed & when selling a property, a conservation area always has a greater appeal to many buyers.

toby3000

An area being designated a conservation area doesn't come with any automatic planning restrictions. The council can put what I think is known as an 'Article 5' in place for specific things (for example, restricting the replacement of windows, or doors, or external finishes). They need one for each thing they want to limit, and it depends what it is that warranted it's designation in the first place, so it might be the architecture, or the street layout, or the trees and green spaces. At least that's my understanding of it.

RLH33

The main overall limitations to living within a Conservation Area, that are universal to all conservation areas, is that the permitted development rights on houses are more restricted than on houses outside of conservation areas (CA). For example if you lived outside a CA you can put dormer windows in your roof, albeit depending on their size, positioning etc withough planning permission, inside a CA you will need planning permission regardless of its size, positioning etc. Plus there are, as someone has pointed out before, automatic restrictions on what you can do to trees.

Other than that it really depends on the individual Council and whether they have applied for other restrictions, such as limitations on external alterations etc. In my area we have one that restricts the demolition of walls over a certain height and no estate agent/for sale boards.

Where it really comes to bite in most cases though is when people apply for planning permission. In a CA a higher standard of quality will be expected both in terms of its design and materials and there will be higher expectations that it will fit into the surrounding streetscene and character of the area. Therefore in practice this means that applications do end up getting refused more if they are not up to standard.

planning_officer

toby3000 wrote: »

An area being designated a conservation area doesn't come with any automatic planning restrictions. The council can put what I think is known as an 'Article 5' in place for specific things (for example, restricting the replacement of windows, or doors, or external finishes). They need one for each thing they want to limit, and it depends what it is that warranted it's designation in the first place, so it might be the architecture, or the street layout, or the trees and green spaces. At least that's my understanding of it.

Not quite true - as RLH33 says, permitted development rights are much more restricted in conservation areas (conservation areas fall under the definition of Article 1(5) land - along with AONBs and National Parks). For example, no roof alterations, no two storey extensions (anywhere) or single storey side extensions are allowed, plus there are extra restrictions on the location of outbuildings. Councils can serve Article 4 Directions, removing certain permitted development rights altogether - meaning any extensions, outbuildings, rendering, painting, hardstanding, boundary fencing, etc may require permission (depending on the type of permitted development removed).