In England, there are approximately 10,000 conservation areas. These areas protect the historical presence that glows through the architecture of a location. If your property lies within a conservation area, there are restrictions on what you can do to that building. However, in most cases, there is no restriction on changing your windows, as ‘permitted development’ allows you to perform certain types of work without planning permission.
Despite this, further restrictions can be enforced in conservation areas. If an ‘Article 4 Direction’ sits on top of a conservation area, specific development is not approved under ‘permitted development’ and therefore needs a planning application. This can apply to individual properties or defined areas, so if your property is in a conservation area and has an Article 4 Direction in force, you can’t alter the windows without first getting planning permission.