Conservation areas and conservation area consent

This section covers:

  • Living in a conservation area
  • Do I need permission to do work to a property in a conservation area?
  • Conservation area consent 
  • Applying for consent
  • Heritage Impact Assessment
  • Design and access statements (DAS)

Caerphilly has 16 conservation areas that have been designated for their special architectural or historic interest. 

   
  • Bute Town
  • Cwmcarn Memorial Park
  • Draethen
  • Gelligaer
  • Gelligroes
  • Gellihaf
  • Groeswen
  • Llanbradach
  • Maesycwmmer/Hengoed
  • Nelson
  • Newbridge Gateway
  • Oakdale Village
  • Pontywaun Garden Suburbs
  • Rhymney Town
  • Ruperra Castle & Park
  • Tredomen

You can find out if a property is within a conservation area by viewing conservation area maps (pdf) 

Living in a conservation area

There are national planning controls if you own a property which is in a conservation area and guidance on the rules can be found on the Planning Portal.  

Most homeowners have certain permitted development rights which means they do not have to apply for planning permission for certain works.  In conservation areas, some of these rights are removed which is referred to as an Article 4 Direction, which give additional controls over various minor alterations, such as alterations to windows.

Further information can be found on our Article 4 direction section.

There are three conservation areas that have Article 4 directions served, namely Bute Town, Pontywaun Garden Suburbs in Crosskeys and Rhymney Town.

Do I need permission to do work to a property in a conservation area?

The most common types of works in conservation areas that requires planning permission include: 

  • adding external wall insulation
  • cladding any part of the house with stone, artificial stone, pebble dash, render, timber plastic, metal or tiles 
  • any works that will alter the external appearance of your property such as extending your roof, or installing, altering or removing a chimney stack, etc. 
  • single-storey side extensions are only permitted if they project from the side elevation of the original dwellinghouse by less than 3 metres and are set back from the principal elevation of the original dwellinghouse by at least 1 metre
  • extensions of more than one storey 
  • demolition or the almost total demolition of an unlisted building
  • installing satellite dishes, t.v. and radio aerials 
  • altering or removing some boundary walls or hedges
  • altering vehicle access or parking arrangements around the property
  • works to trees within conservation areas such as felling, pruning, cutting, lopping or topping to any trees or shrubs with a stem diameter measuring over 75mm (at chest height).  For more information see our section on tree preservation orders.

If you are considering an alteration to your property and would like advice, you can contact our Conservation and Design Officer on 01443 866766.

Conservation area consent 

If you live in a conservation area, you will need conservation area consent to do the following:

  • demolish a building with a volume of more than 115 cubic metres.
  • to demolish a gate, fence, wall or railing more than one metre high next to a highway (including a public footpath or bridleway) or public open space; or more than two metres high elsewhere.

If you are unsure whether or not consent will be needed for what you intend to do, then you can contact our Conservation and Design Officer on 01443 866766.

Applying for consent

We encourage you to submit your application online via Planning Applications Wales.  

 

If you prefer you can also download an application form and sent it to us at Planning Division, Penallta House, Tredomen Park, Ystrad Mynach, Hengoed CF82 7PG

Find and download paper forms

Heritage impact assessment

Heritage impact assessment is a structured process to make sure that you take the significance of your historic asset into account when you are developing and designing proposals for change.

As from 1 September 2017, a heritage impact statement is required to support an application for conservation area consent. 

A heritage impact statement for conservation area consent must contain:

  • a description of the proposed works (“the demolition works”), including a schedule of works;
  • an explanation of the objective that the demolition works are intended to achieve and why demolition is desirable or necessary;
  • a description of the contribution any building which is proposed to be demolished makes to the character or appearance of the conservation area;
  • an assessment of the impact of the demolition works on the character or appearance of the conservation area, including a description of any potential benefits or harm to the character or appearance of the area;
  • a summary of the options considered for the purpose of achieving the objective referred to in paragraph (3) (b) and the reasons why demolition is preferred.

Guidance on preparing a heritage impact statement can be found here Heritage Impact Assessment in Wales (PDF)

Further guidance is available from Cadw’s website

Design and access statements (DAS)

The requirement to submit a DAS with a planning application in a conservation area will apply to:

  • development of one or more dwellings
  • where the creation of floorspace is 100 sq. m. or more

For further guidance on how to produce a DAS please download the Welsh Government’s Design and Access Statements in Wales, June 2017 (PDF)

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Elsewhere on the web

Cadw | HistoricWales