Advice and Resources

Living and working in the Lewes Conservation Areas

If your home or business premises is in one of the two Conservation Areas, you'll probably need to apply for planning permission to make changes to your property. If you live or work in a listed building, you may also need to apply for ‘listed building consent’, even if all the work planned is inside your property. It's best to get advice from a Conservation Officer early on. Because the town of Lewes is in the South Downs National Park, planning matters are dealt with by the SDNPA and not Lewes District Council.

You will be charged a fee to apply for planning permission, but you can get free-of-charge advice about whether or not you're likely to need planning permission or listed building consent. See here for further information, and here for details of free drop-in advice sessions. If you have an older property there is useful advice on the Historic England website, which also has a useful guide on getting Listed Building Consent.

If you want to make an older house more energy efficient (with insulation or double glazing or a heat pump for example), these guides from the SDNPA and Lewes OVESCO are useful.

See gallery below for some common problems and issues.

Loft conversions

Loft conversion can give you extra space but dormer windows should not be too high or too wide like the one on the right here. It's also best if they align with windows in lower floors. An architect will be able to advise you on the option which is most likely to get planning permission.

More about double glazing

Although it's better to repair historic sash windows than replace them, slimline timber (not uPVC) double glazing is sometimes permitted. A smaller gap between the two panes allows a fairly close match with the original window. An alternative is secondary glazing which is fitted inside the original window to reduce heat loss or noise from outside. Various types of secondary glazing are available, some of them easy to fit yourself.

Advice and Resources

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