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Conservation areas

Where conservation areas are located in the East Riding, including what changes can be made to a property within a conservation area.

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About conservation areas

Across the East Riding of Yorkshire, we have 109 conservation areas. These vary in scale and in character, ranging from urban town centres to rural settlements, reflecting the diversity and character of the East Riding.

Conservation Areas are areas of special historic and architectural interest, and their designation provides protection to the areas, villages and towns that create and define our local and national identity. The value of these areas stems not just from their buildings, open spaces, streetscene, landscape and history, but also from how these elements combine to create an attractive and striking whole.

The local authority, in designating conservation areas, is seeking to preserve and enhance their character and appearance, however, this is not to say that change cannot happen in conservation areas, but rather that change should be managed in a way that better reveals their special character.

Find out if you live in a conservation area

You can find out whether you live within a conservation area by searching for your property on East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Planning Constraints Interactive Map.

Alternatively, you can search for the conservation area appraisal for your village, town or settlement, which will include a map showing the boundary of the conservation area.

Conservation area appraisals

Each conservation area has an appraisal document. The document includes:

  • an explanation of the area's "special" nature
  • a map showing the conservation area boundary
  • a more detailed assessment of the elements that contribute to the area's character and appearance.

The documents are intended to be a useful tool. They area a guide to homeowners, businesses, developers, and anybody with an interest in the area, to help them progress positive schemes that are sensitive to the area's special nature.

The council will use the area's appraisal to assess the acceptability of any applications and proposed developments within the conservation area.

Search the conservation area appraisals directory

Works within a conservation area

Any works within a conservation area for which a planning application is required, will be assessed against their impact on the character and appearance of the conservation area. Generally, inclusion within a conservation area does not alter what works do and don’t need consent. However, there are some areas where inclusion within a conservation area will place additional controls on development.

These controls include:

  • providing greater control over the demolition of unlisted buildings and structures. This includes requiring permission to be sought before demolishing buildings over 115 cubic metres. It also requires that consent is sought before demolishing walls, gates and fences which are more than one metre high where abutting a highway (including a public footpath or bridleway), waterway or open space, or over two metres high elsewhere
  • requiring an owner to formally provide the council with six weeks’ notice before carrying out works to fell, prune or uproot trees in a conservation area. This covers all trees which have stem diameter greater than 75mm (3 inches) when measured at 1.5 metres (5 feet) above ground level. Further information on trees is available
  • providing greater controls over advertising, as certain categories of advertisement which have ‘deemed consent’ under the Advertisement Regulations, are restricted within Conservation Areas
  • restricting the types of development which can be carried out without the need for planning permission (otherwise known as permitted development rights). These include, but are not limited to, roof extensions, external cladding, installing satellite dishes on front elevations and some types of extensions.

In some instances, an Article 4 Direction may also be applied, which further restricts Permitted Development rights. Permitted Development rights are set out within the General Permitted Development Order 2015, and they are works that can be carried-out without the need to apply for planning permission.

As some of these works, such as the replacement of windows, can result in harm to the character and appearance of a conservation area, an Article 4 Direction allows a local authority to control these works, and therefore protect the conservation area.

Currently the only conservation area in the East Riding with an Article 4 Direction is the village of Atwick, which covers works to the windows and doors at a small number of properties around the Green.

If you require further guidance, or want formal confirmation as to whether permission would be required, the local authority provides a ‘Do I Need Planning Permission’ service. Further information about this service is available here.

Further reappraisal of conservation areas

Beginning in 2024, the local authority is beginning a process of re-appraising and re-considering all conservation area appraisals that have not been updated in the past five years.

The reasons why the council is carrying out a review of all our conservation area appraisals are:

  • To make sure that our appraisals are up to date, and reflect the current situation on the ground
  • To make sure that they clearly describe the character and appearance and the special interest of the East Riding’s varied and attractive conservation areas
  • To allow us to assess whether the boundaries of the conservation areas require revision
  • To provide uniformity across our conservation area appraisals.

These conservation areas will be addressed sequentially starting with those most in need of update. This need will be determined by a consideration of the age of the current appraisal, whether the conservation area is included on Historic England’s ‘Heritage at Risk Register’ and the pressure for development in each of our conservation areas.

Please keep checking back on this page for further updates.

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