What is a Conservation Area?
Introduction
Conservation areas are special areas of land that have been set aside by local councils for their historic or architectural interest. The local authority’s job is to protect them and ensure they’re managed properly. Conservation areas are usually older, more formal neighbourhoods than those outside the protection scheme.
What can a Conservation Area be used for?
A conservation area can be used for a variety of purposes.
- Residential and commercial uses are allowed, but only in certain circumstances. For example, a conservation area must be zoned as residential or commercial and cannot have any additional restrictions placed on it by the municipality. There may also be other restrictions on what type of building can be constructed within a conservation area (for example, no large buildings).
- Industrial uses are not permitted unless your municipality has specifically allowed for such a zone to exist within their boundaries. In this case, however, you will want to make sure that your property is large enough for an industrial use since these tend to require more space than residential or commercial ones do.
- Agricultural uses are allowed in many ways; however, there may be restrictions based on how much land is available within the Conservation Area itself – some municipalities will cap how much land can be used for agriculture with others allowing all available land to be used up without imposing limits or regulations on its use at all times throughout each year!
What are the benefits of being a conservation area?
To help you understand what a conservation area is and why it’s so important to the community, we’ve put together the following list.
- Conservation areas are protected by law. All land within a conservation area is protected by statute, which means nobody can build without permission or change the use of the land without consent.
- Conservation areas protect future generations. The main aim of a conservation area is to protect features that make an area special, like its historic buildings and natural features (like woodlands). These things tend to be very fragile, so if you build on them or change their use it may be impossible for future generations to enjoy them in exactly the same way as you do now – this would be bad news for everyone!
- Conservation areas help keep places distinctive from one another: if all our towns and cities looked identical then there would be no point living somewhere other than where everybody else lives! A good example of this principle comes from St James’s Square in London: although some people might say that it’s just another spot full of expensive restaurants… it isn’t! It has unique architecture; historical connections; beautiful gardens etcetera etcetera…
Who is responsible for running a conservation area?
- Local Council
The local council is responsible for running and maintaining conservation areas. They set policies on how these areas should be managed, and they also provide guidance to developers and other individuals or groups who want to make changes that affect the area. The council can also issue planning permits to individuals who want to carry out works in the conservation area. If you have questions about what can be done in a particular conservation area, you should contact your local council.
What happens to a conservation area if the owner wants to develop it?
In order to carry out any development in a conservation area, planning permission is required. Applications are considered by the local planning authority and they must be satisfied that the proposals are not detrimental to the character of the area.
A developer may ask for their land to be removed from a conservation area if they wish to develop it or build on it. If this happens, any changes that have been made under existing planning permissions will remain valid unless specifically revoked by new plans or policies set out in a local plan or neighbourhood development order.
If you do want to improve your property but don’t want to alter its appearance significantly (or at all), then you’ll need to check whether your house is in one of these areas before making changes – such as adding extra windows or doors – because work in these areas needs special permission from your local council before starting construction work
How can I find out if my land is a conservation area?
The easiest way to determine if a property is part of a conservation area is to visit the planning portal and search for your address. If the result shows that your property falls within a conservation area, you will see a warning banner with additional information about what this means for you. If you see no warning, then your land is not located within a conservation area and there are no special restrictions on development or construction that need to be followed by owners/developers.
You can get planning permission in a conservation area, but it may take longer than usual.
In general, you cannot get planning permission to change things in your house or garden that are important to the character of the property and its setting. For example, you cannot extend your conservatory or build a new conservatory if it would affect views from the street.
You can obtain detailed information about what changes require planning permission by contacting your local council’s planning department. In some cases, a more detailed application may be required than normal. This process is called an Article 4 Direction (also known as a ‘special permit’).
In most cases, decisions are made on a case by case basis as conservation areas tend to contain many different types of properties which vary greatly in age and design features (for example: older terraces with small front gardens may not need any work carried out).
Conclusion
I hope this article has given you a better understanding of what conservation areas are and their importance to the community. If you have any other questions about conservation areas or how they might affect your own property, please get in touch with us at info@icelabz.co.uk