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Conservation areasAn area considered to be of architectural or historical interest can be designated a conservation area by the local council.

This means additional restrictions beyond the normal planning laws. Planning permission will be required in the following instances:

to insert dormers or alter the roof of a house or to install a satellite dish on any wall or roof facing a highway or on any wall or chimney over 15m (50ft) tall

to clad any part of the exterior of a house with stone, artificial stone, timber, plastic or tiles

to extend a house by more than 50 cubic metres (including previous additions erected since 1948 or since the house was built) or ten per cent of the total volume of the original house subject to a maximum of 115 cubic metres

alteration or improvement of a building with a cubic content greater than 10 cubic metres within the curtilage of the dwelling house

total or substantial demolition of a listed building that has a volume in excess of 115 cubic metres, including some freestanding walls

to demolish or remove any wall, gate, fence or other means of enclosure if it's greater than 1m (3.3ft) high where abutting a highway, or 2m (6.6ft) high in any other case.


It's also worth remembering that trees are under special protection in conservation areas. If you're proposing any work on a tree, you're required to inform your local council six weeks before you intend to start work, and obtain its approval.

Party Wall Act 1996

A party wall has the following definitions:

It forms part of a building and stands astride the boundary of land belonging to two (or more) different owners

It separates buildings and it either (a) stands astride the boundary of land belonging to two (or more) different owners or (b) stands wholly on one person's land, but is used by two (or more) owners to separate their buildings. This relates to situations where one owner built the wall first and his neighbour has butted his building up to it without constructing his own wall.

A party fence is defined as:

a wall that is not part of a building (for example, a garden wall). This does not include wooden fences.


The act applies to all work to be carried out on an existing party wall, building astride the boundary line between two properties and excavations within 3m or 6m (9.8ft or 20ft) of a neighbouring building depending on the depth of hole or foundation.

The act was intended to generate communication and agreement between neighbours on proposed work that had a common wall.
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