Conservation Areas
Shortcut to this page www.birmingham.gov.uk/conservationareas
Giving an area Conservation Area status helps us to safeguard its special character for future generations. There are currently 30 Conservation Areas in Birmingham. These areas are varied in character but all contain buildings, structures or features of historic or architectural value which combine to create a unique environment - a record of our past.
The City's Conservation Areas range from the Jewellery Quarter, which contains Europe's largest and best surviving group of Victorian and early 20th century buildings devoted to the manufacture of jewellery and similar small goods, to the internationally acclaimed Bournville Village, which dates from the late 19th century.
Put your post code into My Local Information and if you live in a Conservation Area, its name will be listed.
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We have a duty to preserve and enhance the character and appearance of each Conservation Area, under planning laws and our own policies. While we are ultimately responsible for deciding whether an area should be given Conservation Area status, the decision is only taken after extensive research and consultation with people living and owning property in the area.
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We have powers under planning law to help us:
- Control development
- Control demolition
- Protect trees
- Control advertisements
- Carry out urgent work necessary to preserve any vacant unlisted building that has fallen into serious disrepair, and to recover costs from the owner.
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See Birmingham’s Conservation Areas for a list. Further information, plans and documents relating to these areas are being added to the linked pages.
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Any changes you make to a property through repairs, maintenance or alterations, should be in keeping with the character of both the building and the area. You should take care to match original materials and methods of construction and avoid damaging or removing features of historic or architectural value. Conservation Area Consent as well as planning permission may be required.
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Trees within a Conservation Area are automatically protected from being cut down or having work done to them without permission from us. This is because trees can contribute significantly to the special character of a Conservation Area.
If you want to carry out work to a tree or remove a tree in a Conservation Area you must give us 6 weeks notice using the Tree Works Consent Form.
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If we are notified we will have to investigate why the tree was removed and if its removal is not justified we may prosecute the person who removed it.
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Subject to available funding, grant aid may be awarded for external repairs and restoration works to historic buildings such as:
- General structural repairs including repairs to structural timbers
- Re-roofing
- Chimney repairs
- Repair / replacement of gutters and down pipes
- Repair or reinstatement of windows, external doors and other joinery (including shop fronts)
- Appropriate damp and dry rot treatment
- Brickwork, stonework and render repairs
- Repair or reinstatement of boundary walls and railings
- Repair of architectural features
- Works to archaeological sites, including the provision of information to the public
Priority will be given to buildings on the City Council’s Listed Buildings at Risk register. Other buildings must be on the Statutory List or Local List of buildings of special architectural or historic interest or within a designated Conservation Area, and be within a City Council priority area.
We can advise you if your property falls within any of these categories. Generally, grants are offered to owners of historic buildings to ensure that comprehensive external repairs are carried out to a building to ensure that the building is structurally stable and is protected from the weather. Where a building is structurally sound, grant aid may be considered for the repair or restoration of items such as ornamental stonework, ironwork or other specific architectural features. Please contact us for further details.
Internal works are not usually eligible for grant aid except where necessary structural repairs are required or if there are particularly important internal features requiring repair or restoration. Where a building has recently been purchased, it is generally assumed that the purchase price should reflect the condition of the building and that grant aid would therefore not be given. However, consideration will be given where original features are being restored or where inappropriate alterations are being made good.
Grants cannot be offered towards the cost of routine maintenance, the provision of services (water, drainage, electricity etc.) or decoration.
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If you haven't been able to find the information that you need then the link below will take you to a form that you can use to ask us further questions.
Service Specific Enquiry
