Supplementary Planning Documents
There are national regulations about what changes you can make to a property without needing to apply for planning permission, known as 'permitted development.' However, under some circumstances, we can apply local restrictions to types of development which would normally count as permitted. This page explains why we use these restrictions, commonly called Article 4 Directions, and supplies the documents describing our local Article 4 Directions.
An Article 4 Direction applies in a particular location where we are protecting special features, such as a conservation area or the setting of a site with a high heritage value. It operates by removing some of the "permitted development" rights over some types of minor alterations and extensions, such as porches, replacement of windows and doors, or painting of the outside of a building. Usually these Directions only relate to the parts of the building which face a street, public footpath or open space, but sometimes they also cover work at the rear, or outside developments, such as sheds in back gardens.
The effect of these Article 4 Directions is that planning permission is required for these minor developments that would otherwise not require an application for planning permission. This makes it easier for us to protect the character, heritage and outlook of special areas such as the Bath World Heritage Site.
You can view the areas affected by local Article 4 Directions on our online policy mapping tool.