Durham Castle and Cathedral were made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. Around them sits the Durham City Conservation Area, first designated in 1968 and enlarged in 1980. It covers far more than the peninsula, taking in streets across the city centre and many of the terraces around it.
If your house is in it, some work that would be fine elsewhere needs permission. Get it wrong and the council can make you put it back at your own cost. Here's what you need to know.
Permitted development rights, the rules that let you do some work without a planning application, are reduced in every conservation area in England. Typically you'll need permission for things like side extensions, cladding the outside of the house, and roof extensions such as dormers.
Demolishing a building, or a substantial part of one, also needs permission. And trees are protected: you must give the council six weeks' notice before cutting down or significantly pruning most trees.
On top of the normal conservation area rules, Durham County Council has made Article 4 Directions covering parts of the city, including streets in the Hawthorn Terrace, Crossgate Peth, Albert Street, Lambton Street, Nevilledale Terrace, Claypath and Gilesgate areas. The main direction took effect in August 2016.
On these streets you may need planning permission for changes that are normally permitted development, including:
Swapping original timber sash windows for uPVC is the classic mistake. On an Article 4 street, it usually needs permission and is often refused.
Durham City has hundreds of listed buildings. If your house is listed, you need listed building consent for any work that affects its character, inside or out. That can include replacing windows, removing fireplaces, changing internal walls or re-roofing in different materials.
Carrying out unauthorised work to a listed building is a criminal offence, not just a planning breach. Always check before you start.
We match materials and details properly: natural slate, lime mortar where it's needed, timber windows made to the original pattern. We'll tell you at the site visit what's likely to need consent, and we handle the applications as part of the job.
This is general guidance, not formal advice on your property. Rules change, so we check the current position at the free site visit and handle any applications as part of the job.
It depends where you are. On Article 4 streets, replacing front windows usually needs planning permission. Listed buildings need listed building consent. Check with the council before ordering anything.
A council order that removes some permitted development rights in a specific area, so changes that are normally allowed need planning permission. Several Durham City streets are covered.
Search the National Heritage List for England on the Historic England website, or ask the council.
You must give the council six weeks' written notice before felling or significantly pruning most trees in a conservation area.
Whatever the brief, the route in is the same: ring us, we'll visit, we'll come back with a fixed price in plain English. Free site visits across Durham, Sunderland and Newcastle.
Or email enquiries@atkinsonsgroup.co.uk
No call-out charge for quotes. Fixed prices, in writing.
