Under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995, the Council has made ‘Article 4 Directions’ which cover all properties in the Bedford Park and Gunnersbury Park conservation areas. The effect of the directions (in addition to standard conservation area controls) is that owners also need to apply for planning permission to make many other changes to their properties. This does not mean that the Council will necessarily refuse permission, but enables it to exercise greater for the following reasons.
The Council has made the directions to protect the best features on individual buildings and to ensure that any proposed alterations are in the best interests of the character of the conservation area. This may include removal of any previous unsympathetic alterations where permission is needed to make changes.
Usually, the owner of a house in a conservation area can carry out considerable alterations to the property without the Council’s permission. In some cases, these ‘permitted’ changes can harm the area’s character if not carried out using appropriate details or materials (in the case of such features as windows, doors, roofs, porches, etc) or to an excessive scale.
Because permitted development rights have been granted by law, Government policy is that they should be withdrawn only in exceptional cases, such as where carrying out permitted development might damage a conservation area’s character. Article 4 Directions are not issued without careful consideration, because the Council may be required to pay compensation in circumstances where you cannot obtain planning permission for development which otherwise would be treated as permitted development.
Because they are a restriction on the use of the property, proposed Article 4 directions are notified to owners before they are made and are then registered as a Local Land Charge, so that a buyer can be aware of their existence.
If an application for planning permission is required because of an Article 4 Direction, there is no fee for the planning application involved.
Details of the properties affected by these two Directions and what householders can and cannot do to their properties can be downloaded to the right of this page.
Contact Us
Borough Planning Department
London Borough of Hounslow
Civic Centre
Lampton Road
Hounslow
TW3 4DN
Tel: 020 8583 2000
E-mail: planningcomments@hounslow.gov.uk