Conservation areas

Instead of protecting an individual building, a conservation area aims to preserve an area's whole character. This character can be made up of buildings, spaces between buildings, views, paving materials, trees and boundary features.

The objective of defining a conservation area is to provide for the preservation and enhancement of the special interest of the place. The intention is not to stifle change, but to provide for the positive management of these unique areas.

In the East riding there are 105 conservation areas ranging from town centres to rural settlements.

There are stricter planning controls over new development within a conservation area.

There are 105 conservation areas in the East Riding. Each area has its own appraisal document, which describes the special architectural or historical interest of the conservation area, as well as showing the boundaries. Take a look at our conservation area appraisals.

You can also use our interactive map to check if your property falls within one of these boundaries.

Most properties within a conservation area have similar planning permission requirements to properties outside a conservation area, although work requiring planning permission will also involve consultation with one of our conservation officers.

The main differences include:

you will need planning permission for demolition works involving more than 50% of any building that has a volume greater than 115 cubic metres (about the size of two double garages), unless it was an agricultural building built from 1914 onwards
you will need planning permission for demolition involving gates, walls, fences or railings that are over 1 metre high and next to a highway
trees over a certain size are protected and you may need to give us notice before carrying out work on them
in rare cases, some permitted development rights may have been removed under an Article 4 Direction (see below).

Permitted development rights allow some minor developments to sometimes take place without specific consent, such as the building of a fence or small extensions to the rear of a property.

We may withdraw permitted development rights for various types of development that affect the external appearance of a building within a conservation area under Article 4 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (GDPO). This Article 4 Direction usually applies where the character of an area of acknowledged importance would otherwise be threatened.

If a conservation area has had permitted development rights removed by an Article 4 Direction, you may be required to obtain [planning permission] consent before carrying out work that otherwise wouldn't need it.

Currently the only conservation area in the East Riding with an Article 4 Direction is the village of Atwick, which covers a small number of properties. We are also proposing the introduction of an Article 4 Direction covering part of Bridlington Quay conservation area.

The rules around whether something needs planning permission or not is very complex, so why not let us help you figure it out?

We will also tell you whether building control regulations will apply.

Find out how we can help

We are able to offer specialist advice for new developments in a conservation area. These include:

landscaping
visual impact
ecology
trees
nature conservation
listed building matters

Request specialist pre-application advice for highways
Request specialist pre-application advice for protected and historic environments

We are required by national government to undertake conservation area appraisals and update them on a regular basis to ensure the definition of these special architectural or historical interest areas is kept accurate.

More about conservation area appraisals and management plans

Business

Council

Environment

Leisure

Living

Learning

Housing and council tax

Planning permission and building control