East Suffolk Council
Article 4 Directions
| Guidance for living in an Article 4 Direction area |
To help protect the character and appearance of some of the district’s conservation areas, East Suffolk Council, as a local planning authority, has increased planning controls through the application of Article 4 Directions. A list of conservation areas where these have been applied is below. These directions make further restrictions on permitted development rights to change residential (only) properties. Planning permission is consequently required to make any change of design or material to any part of the property facing what is called a ‘relevant location’ – that is, a public thoroughfare, defined as a highway, waterway or open space.
The types of changes controlled include replacing windows and doors; painting previously unpainted buildings or stripping paint from them; erection, alteration or demolition of part or all of a wall, fence, gate or other enclosure; or the construction of a porch. Also controlled is the enlargement, improvement or other alteration of a dwelling, any alteration to its roof, the provision of a building, enclosure, swimming pool, hard surface, etc., within the grounds, or 'curtilage', of the building.
Elevations of properties not visible from a relevant location (other than roofs or chimneys) are not affected, and these will enjoy the usual permitted development rights for a conservation area. Further, Article 4 Directions do not affect:
- repairs or maintenance
- painting and decorating, except of previously unpainted surfaces
- alterations which took place before the Direction was in place
Please note that these Article 4 Directions do not apply to apartments or commercial properties.
Please also note that, whilst the Article 4 Directions refer to the 1995 General Permitted Development Order which has been superseded by the 2015 Order, they can also be considered to have been consolidated by the 2015 Order. As such, those parts of the 1995 Order referred to in the Article 4 Directions are still relevant and give a sensible reason of why permitted development rights have been removed. The original reasons why the Article 4 Directions were made in the first place still exist and, therefore, they remain valid.
The East Suffolk Historic Environment Supplementary Planning Document contains useful information.
Conservation areas where Article 4 Directions apply
Please note that the extensions made to the Southwold Conservation Area on 12 January 2024 are not currently covered by Article 4 Directions and are subject to the usual permitted development rights in a conservation area, only.
For more detailed maps of the conservation areas please use our Geographic Information System.
Beccles
- Beccles Conservation Area Article 4 Direction order
- Beccles Conservation Area Article 4 Direction map
Bungay
Halesworth
- Halesworth Conservation Area Article 4 Direction order
- Halesworth Conservation Area Article 4 Direction map
Holton
Homersfield
- Homersfield Conservation Area Article 4 Direction order
- Homersfield Conservation Area Article 4 Direction map
North Lowestoft
Somerleyton
- Somerleyton Conservation Area Article 4 Direction order
- Somerleyton Conservation Area Article 4 Direction map
South Lowestoft/Kirkley
Southwold
- Southwold Conservation Area Article 4 Direction order
- Southwold Conservation Area (harbour) Article 4 Direction order
- Southwold Conservation Area Article 4 Direction map
- Southwold Conservation Area (harbour) Article 4 Direction map
Walberswick
- Walberswick Conservation Area Article 4 Direction order
- Walberswick Conservation Area Article 4 Direction map
Wangford
- Wangford Conservation Area Article 4 Direction order
- Wangford Conservation Area Article 4 Direction map
Wissett
- Wissett Conservation Area Article 4 Direction order
- Wissett Conservation Area Article 4 Direction map
Wrentham
- Wrentham Conservation Area Article 4 Direction order
- Wrentham Conservation Area Article 4 Direction map
Other areas where Article 4 Directions apply
There is also an Article 4 Direction which covers all of the former Waveney district area, and removes the rights for a change of use of a dwelling to a use falling with Class C4 (houses in multiple occupation). This means planning permission is required for such changes of use.