Article 4 directions and conservation areas in London: which rights go, and how to check your address

What is a conservation area, and what does designation do?

Under section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 every local planning authority must designate areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance. They must also review past designations from time to time. In Greater London, section 70 lets Historic England designate too, after consulting the borough and with the Secretary of State's consent. The designation is a local land charge, so it is recorded against the property.

Section 72 adds a duty: in exercising planning functions, special attention must be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of the area. That is why a design that satisfies the permitted development limits elsewhere can still be refused in a conservation area. Historic England puts the number at around 10,000 in England (its area designations page, updated 11 August 2026); an older Historic England advice page says nearly 10,000.

Designation does not freeze a street. It changes the test: a proposal is judged on its effect on character and appearance, and some rights that would apply elsewhere are not available. The national planning policy framework, replaced by a new version first published on 17 August 2026, deals with conservation areas in chapter 20 on the historic environment (policies HE2 and HE9); read the current text, not a paragraph number from the 2024 edition.

What is an Article 4 direction?

Article 4 of the 2015 Order lets a council, or the Secretary of State, direct that permission granted by the Order does not apply to development described in a Part, Class or paragraph of Schedule 2, in a specified area or for a particular development. Planning practice guidance says a direction cannot restrict changes between uses in the same use class and cannot stop development already carried out or started.

Directions take two forms. A non-immediate direction is advertised and does not come into force unless the council confirms it; its start date must be at least 28 days, and no more than 2 years, after the representations period begins. An immediate direction, available for certain development including some in conservation areas, comes into force as soon as notice is served or first published, but expires after 6 months unless confirmed. Article 4(1) excludes a few classes from any direction, including Class CA of Part 7 (reverse vending machines at shops), added on 9 April 2026.

Practice guidance paragraph 13-038, revised in August 2021, sets a test. Directions should be targeted, based on robust evidence and apply to the smallest geographical area possible, with a particularly strong justification for wide areas such as those covering a large proportion of or the entire area of a local planning authority. The national planning policy framework published on 17 August 2026 (policy DM10) adds that directions should be limited to protecting local amenity or wellbeing, giving an over-concentration of small houses in multiple occupation as an example, and should apply to the smallest area required to mitigate the evidenced harm.

Do you need permission to demolish in a conservation area?

Often, yes. Section 196D of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, inserted by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 from 1 October 2013, makes it an offence to carry out relevant demolition without the required planning permission. Relevant demolition is demolition of a building in a conservation area in England, other than buildings exempted by section 75 of the 1990 Act. The practice guidance says planning permission is required for the demolition of certain unlisted buildings in conservation areas.

Practice guidance (paragraph 13-064) says a building of no more than 50 cubic metres can be demolished without planning permission. It says demolition of a building under 115 cubic metres, or of a gate, fence or wall under 1 metre high next to a highway, waterway or open space (2 metres elsewhere), is permitted development under Part 11, sometimes subject to prior approval. Ask the council before taking anything down.

What about trees in a conservation area?

Section 211 of the 1990 Act protects trees in a conservation area that have no tree preservation order. You must give the council six weeks' notice before cutting down or lopping one, and may proceed earlier only with its consent. The notice lasts two years from the date it is given. The practice guidance exempts a tree with a diameter of 75 millimetres or less, measured at 1.5 metres above ground, and one of 100 millimetres or less if it is being removed solely to improve the growth of other trees.

Doing the work without notice carries the same penalties as breaching a preservation order. A garden extension that needs a tree removed should allow for that notice in its programme.

What is the simplest way to settle a conservation area question?

Check the council's list, then its Article 4 page, then the direction document for your street. If the sources disagree, ask in writing. We check the constraints on your address for free and tell you which route applies, whether that is a certificate, prior approval or a full application. Our planning application drawings service prepares the package, including a heritage statement where the council expects one, and our loft conversion plans cover the roof work that a conservation area restricts most. If the building is also listed, listed building consent is a separate consent from planning permission, and our sister practice Property Architecture, part of the same group, prepares listed building consent drawings for London period homes.