About the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation Conservation Area
The Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation Conservation Area covers about 32 hectares and was designated by Braintree District Council in 1991. No listed buildings are recorded inside the boundary. Part of the area lies in flood zone 3, so an extension may need a flood risk assessment.
What changes inside the conservation area
Conservation areas are “Article 2(3) land”. You keep most permitted development rights, but these are removed or tightened.
ProjectElsewhereIn Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation CA
- Rear extensionElsewhere: 3 m · 6 m with PANo 6 m / 8 m prior approval
- Two-storey extensionElsewhere: 3 mNeeds planning permission
- Side extensionElsewhere: Half the widthNeeds planning permission
- Loft conversionElsewhere: 50 m³Needs planning permission
- Garden roomElsewhere: 2.5 m high by boundariesNot beside the house
- PorchElsewhere: 3 m²Same limits
- Solar panelsElsewhere: 0.2 m projectionSame limits
- Air source heat pumpElsewhere: 1 unitNot facing the road
- Fences, walls and gatesElsewhere: 2 m · 1 m by a roadSame limits
- External claddingElsewhere: Matching materialsNeeds planning permission
- Tree workElsewhere: No notice6 weeks’ notice to the council
- Demolition (over 115 m³)Elsewhere: AllowedNeeds planning permission
Limits for a semi-detached house under the GPDO 2015. An Article 4 direction can remove more.
The council’s appraisal
WEBChelmer and Blackwater Navigation Conservation Area AppraisalBraintree District Council’s description of the area’s character — what planners look at when you apply.Open on council site ↗Nearby conservation areas
Boundary and listed buildings from Braintree District Council and Historic England via planning.data.gov.uk (OGL). Guidance only — not an official council check.