Conservation

A conservation area is an area of special architectural or historic interest. Conservation areas vary in size, ranging from town centres to much smaller groups of buildings. They may be centred on listed buildings but other features of merit, such as open spaces, trees, historic street patterns or items of historic or archaeological interest, may also contribute to the special character of an area.

Preserving character

Medway Council, through the Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, has a statutory duty to ensure that developments within a conservation area (to both new and existing buildings) preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the area. In particular:

• building owners must get conservation area consent from the council before demolishing or partly demolishing a building;
• new development will be required to preserve or enhance the special character and appearance of the area.

In some conservation areas, the council has taken additional planning powers known as Article 4 directions. These require planning permission to be sought for altering or changing doors, windows, boundary walls and minor changes such as external painting.

Restrictions apply to the erection of signs or satellite dishes. Property owners in conservation areas should always check to see whether permission is needed for these.

Detailed advice on the type of work requiring planning permission can be obtained from the address at the foot of the page.

A general guide - Conservation Areas in Medway - a guide to the law and our policy (pdf 914KB) - is available. To use this and the other pdf files on this page, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have this on your computer, please use our advice page.

Conservation areas in Medway

Maps of all the conservation area available to download:

* An Article 4 direction applies to all or part of this conservation area.

Conservation area design guides

Design guides on altering, restoring or extending existing buildings in the following conservation areas are available:

• Watts Avenue/Roebuck Road (pdf 824KB)
• Gillingham Park (pdf 798KB)

Conservation area appraisals

Conservation area appraisals are documents explaining the architectural and historical qualities that make each conservation area special. They help the council and others to judge whether new development will preserve and enhance the conservation area and in ensure that the architectural and historic significance of an area is taken into account when considering development proposals and schemes.

Following public consultation with residents and stakeholders within each area, the following conservation area appraisals have been produced:

• Brompton Lines April 2006 (pdf 8,921KB)
• Upper Upnor, October 2004 (pdf 1,525KB)
• Upper Bush, October 2004 (pdf 5,215KB)
• New Road, Chatham, October 2004 (pdf 908KB)
• Maidstone Road, Chatham, October 2004 (pdf 576KB).

In addition, the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust has produced a conservation area appraisal for Chatham Historic Dockyard. For information about these appraisals or any further information, please contact the Design and Conservation Team using the details below.

^ (back to top)