Conservation Areas

Rossendale currently has 11 Conservation Areas, designated under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and defined as "areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance."

The reasons for designation vary widely, but all Conservation Areas have in common historic and architectural features which make them worthy of additional protection. We recognise that this places extra responsibilities, and in some cases extra costs, on owners when proposing material changes to their properties. For this reason, we encourage owners to contact the Conservation team at the earliest opportunity when proposing works, to check whether permission will be necessary and for advice on the detail of their proposals, for instance on the design of features or specification of materials.

Conservation Area Appraisals

We completed the appraisal of 9 conservation areas during 2010/ 2011, and the appraisal of Haslingden Conservation Area and Waterfoot Conservation Area more recently. The process involved the comprehensive assessment of the historic, architectural and spatial qualities of each area. We have adopted the appraisal documents, together with a management plan for each area. All the appraisals and maps can be viewed below:

Conservation Area Consent

Where the demolition of a building or structure within a conservation area is proposed, owners must apply for Conservation Area Consent. The application forms and guidance can be downloaded from the Planning Portal.

Planning Permission

Within conservation areas, the sensitive re-use of existing buildings is encouraged. Proposals for new development should respect the prevailing character of the area and exhibit high standards of design. In addition, certain forms of development that would normally be classified as permitted development will require planning permission. These can include:

- Extensions / alterations to a house or its roof

- Cladding, rendering or similar treatments

- Buildings erected in the grounds / curtilage of dwellings

- Chimneys, flues, soil or vent pipes

- Satellite dishes or other antenna

- Certain extensions to industrial buildings or warehouses

- Certain electricity or telecommunication buildings or installations

If you have any doubt about whether permission will be required, you are strongly advised to contact our Development Management Team using the details below.

Any development or demolition proposals within a conservation area need to be fully justified and supporting heritage statement will be required. Details of what is expected within a heritage statement can be found in our Validation Checklist

Article 4 Directions

For information about Article 4 Directions within or outside of Conservation Areas please visit the Article 4 Directions webpage.

Trees

For information regarding works to trees in a Conservation Area, please refer to Tree Works.

Open Data

View Conservation Area boundaries on an interactive map

Download the Conservation Area datasets here

This data is provided by Rossendale Borough Council under the Open Government Licence.