Forum Topic

Gelbe Estate  Additional cost to residents conservation area

I have just started reading the LBH consultation document and note it says we will need planning permission to change our fences, walls or gates. After looking on the LBH web site I cannot see how much this will cost. Does anybody know?  “any gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure with a height of one metre or more if    next to a highway (including a public footpath or bridleway), waterway or open space; or a height of two metres or more elsewhere.”

Ann Lond ● 2082d15 Comments

It doesn't cost the owner anything to apply for planning permission.

Lucy Chambers ● 2082d

The household planning application fee in Hounslow Borough is £206.

Paul Charlton ● 2082d

If every house had the same sort of fence, gate or wall that had some historic significance I suppose there might be some point to this but houses on the Glebe Estate have a pretty much random variation of “enclosure” facing the highway, so it’s pointless.

Michael David Rowe ● 2081d

As Paul says the statutory application fee for a householder application is £206 (and that amount is the same across the country).Those fees are payable for works that only require planning permission due to the property being within a conservation area - the only exemptions are when the application relates to works to trees (which benefit from blanket protection as a result of conservation area designation) and most works which only consist of demolition.

Adam Beamish ● 2081d

Wow £206 to change a fence even if it’s hideous or rottenThey seem to be saying we will have to have metal railings They let all the leaves and litter in. I lived in a house with railings and it was a nightmare.

Ann Lond ● 2081d

Gosh, I live in a house with railings in a conservation area and it's not a nightmare. I could be very rude about the central heating, but I don't want to upset it.

Ken Munn ● 2081d

LBH have an online survey about the proposal to make The Glebe Estate a Conservation Area:-https://haveyoursay.hounslow.gov.uk/planning-policy/conservation-area-appraisals-4/and we can give them our views on this until 20th March. It seems to me that being in a Conservation Area makes it much more difficult to do anything to your property. I don’t know if there are advantages. Any views on this?

Michael David Rowe ● 2081d

I lived in a conservation  are for years (LBHF). The curious thing was that you had to get  permission to alter exterior features as they were at the time of listing. For example the Edwardian house we moved to had at some point in the 1960s had the downstairs front sash windows removed and replaced with hideous fixed double-glazed panels. The original windows were stored in the garage so we wanted to put them back. The planning officer at LBHF was very helpful and suggested the "blind eye" technique was best employed in this case. Similarly when we wanted to deal with the front garden wall which was falling over we were instructed to "repair" it using some of the original bricks and that way we avoided having to apply for permission to demolish and rebuild. A bit of common sense goes a long way - unfortunately you are in the hands of individual council officers, not all of whom are as sensible as the one we were fortunate enough to encounter.

Bruce Hammal ● 2081d

You even need permission to prune or remove trees in your own garden in conservation area

Alina Dansord ● 2080d

Alina, not quite the full story.https://www.planninggeek.co.uk/planning/conservation/trees/tpo-tree-preservation-orders/

Ken Munn ● 2080d

Out of interest does anyone know whether if you deliberately remove a tree that’s protected and are made to plant a replacement tree whether the replacement needs to be put in the same location as the original?

Andrew Jones ● 2080d

I know there is a hefty fine in region £20,000 if you remove tree with TPO. Other tree works in conservation area still require permission if trunks diameter is over 75cm. This includes any pruning or removal of tree. Any application to request permission for a tree to be pruned May result in a TPO being slapped on it.

Alina Dansord ● 2080d

I think anybody can apply for a tree to be protected by having a TPO put on it.You also should be aware of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 regarding the protection of nesting birds.  March to August is the period to avoid.  https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-for-wildlife/plants-for-wildlife/garden-hedges/hedge-law/and I am sure that there are others to protect our wildlife which is under stress due to climate change, building works and over-tidying of gardens and the removal of foodplants and habitats.

Philippa Bond ● 2080d

I pointed this out on a previous thread and it may be something to consider if you live in a prospective CA: "Where not on Article 2(3) designated land* or a Site of Special Scientific Interest; and subject to ‘prior approval’, the limit for single-storey rear extensions is increased to eight metres if a detached house; or six metres for any other house.This requires that the relevant Local Planning Authority is informed of the proposed work via a prior approval application." This is provided all the other criteria for PD are met.*Conservation Area is included in this designation.

Mairi Franses ● 2080d

"Other tree works in conservation area still require permission if trunks diameter is over 75cm. This includes any pruning or removal of tree."The diameter of the trunk of regulated trees is not 75 cm, it is 75 mm (measured 1.5 m from the ground), which is quite a small tree.

Gail Busza ● 2080d