Planning permission in Prestwich
If your house is on Prestwich Park Road South, St Ann's Road, Church Lane, Rectory Lane, Butterstile Lane or Lowther Road, there is something you need to know before you plan anything: your permitted development rights were switched off in 2009 — all of them.
General guidance, not planning advice. The Direction is defined by an itemised address schedule, not by street names alone — being on one of these roads does not automatically mean your property is listed. Always confirm your own address with Bury Council before starting work.
🚨 St Mary's has an Article 4 Direction — and it removes everything
Most Article 4 Directions strip out a few permitted development rights. The St Mary's Conservation Area (Prestwich) Article 4 Direction 2009 removes GPDO Schedule 2, Part 1, Classes A through G — that is the complete householder permitted development suite, with nothing left over.
Inside it, you need planning permission to:
- ❌Extend the house in any way
- ❌Add a dormer or convert the loft
- ❌Alter the roof at all
- ❌Build a porch
- ❌Put up a shed, garden room or outbuilding
- ❌Lay a driveway or patio
- ❌Fit a flue or vent pipe
It is one of only two Article 4 Directions in the whole borough of Bury. Prestwich has the other one.
Needs planning permission? We'll handle it.
We prepare and submit householder planning applications and Lawful Development Certificates in-house. Book a free site visit and we'll check your address against the council's schedule — before you commit to anything.
Exactly what the 2009 Direction removes
Straight from the First Schedule of the sealed Direction. Every one of these is a right you would normally have as a homeowner — and every one of them is gone inside St Mary's:
| Class | The council's wording | In plain English |
|---|---|---|
| Class A | "The enlargement, improvement or other alteration of a dwellinghouse" | Extensions |
| Class B | "An addition or alteration to its roof" | Dormers and loft conversions |
| Class C | "Any other alteration to the roof" | Rooflights, re-roofing |
| Class D | "The erection or construction of a porch outside any external door" | Porches |
| Class E | "Buildings etc. incidental to the enjoyment of a dwellinghouse" | Outbuildings, garden rooms, sheds, pools |
| Class F | "The provision within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse of a hard surface" | Driveways and patios |
| Class G | "A chimney, flue or soil and vent pipe" | Flues and vent pipes |
Source: The Metropolitan Borough of Bury St Mary's Conservation Area (Prestwich) Article 4 Direction 2009 — sealed 23 June 2009 and confirmed by the Council Solicitor in October 2009 "with no modifications". Read the signed Direction (PDF).
⚠️ Being on the street is not the same as being on the schedule
This is where it gets fiddly, and where most write-ups go wrong. The Direction covers "dwellings (with the exclusion of flats/apartments) fronting onto, and where elevations/gardens can be seen from" the named streets — and then an address annexe itemises the actual properties.
- •Flats and apartments are excluded outright.
- •Shrewsbury Road, Clarks Hill and Bury New Road are named in the schedule but are not itemised in the address annexe — so don't assume, check.
- •Two entries — Hamilton Mews and 69–81 St Ann's Road — are marked as covering boundary walls only.
The practical upshot: check your specific address against the council's schedule. We do this at the free site visit as a matter of course.
On one of those streets? We'll check the schedule for you.
We prepare and submit the planning application in-house. A free site visit gets you a straight answer on whether your address is on the Article 4 schedule, and what you can actually build — before you spend anything.
Prestwich's other conservation area — and why it's different
Prestwich has two conservation areas, and confusing them is an expensive mistake.
St Mary's — originally designated in 1993 — is the one with the Article 4. Everything above applies there.
Poppythorn — designated in March 2004 — has no Article 4 Direction. There, the standard conservation area position applies: side extensions are not permitted development, loft conversions and dormers are not permitted development, the larger home extension route (6m/8m with prior approval) is closed, and cladding is out. But your remaining permitted development rights survive — you have not lost the lot.
Bury has twelve conservation areas in total, and only two carry an Article 4 Direction: Holcombe, and St Mary's here in Prestwich.
🌳 Don't forget the trees — 6 weeks' notice
In any conservation area, you must give the Council six weeks' written notice before you fell, top, lop or uproot a tree with a stem thicker than 75mm — about three inches — even if it has no Tree Preservation Order on it. That catches a lot of extension and garden room projects, where a tree is in the way and nobody thinks to check. It's a criminal offence to do it without notice.
Applying to Bury Council
Bury Council is the local planning authority for Prestwich, Whitefield, Radcliffe, Ramsbottom and Tottington. We prepare and submit householder planning applications and Lawful Development Certificates in-house.
If you're anywhere near the St Mary's boundary, a Lawful Development Certificate is the safe route. It's the council formally confirming your project is lawful — and it's the document a buyer's solicitor will ask for when you sell. In an Article 4 area, an extension built without the permission it needed is a problem you inherit at the point of sale, not before.
Planning an extension in Prestwich?
We handle the architectural design, the planning, the Building Regulations and the build — and we check all of this at the free site visit. See our extensions, kitchen extensions and loft conversions services, or our work in Prestwich.
Don't forget the Party Wall Act either — it's separate from planning, and on the terraced and semi-detached stock around St Mary's, standard extension foundations almost always trigger it. We've also written up Stockport and Warrington.
General information, not advice. The Article 4 Direction is defined by an itemised address schedule held by Bury Council — being on one of the named streets does not automatically mean your property is on it, and two entries cover boundary walls only. Planning conditions, listed status and restrictive covenants can all affect what you can build, and Directions can be varied or revoked. Confirm your position with Bury Council, or via a Lawful Development Certificate, before starting work. Cheshire Design & Build NW accepts no liability for reliance on this page. Correct as at July 2026.
Prestwich Planning FAQs
Do I need planning permission for an extension in Prestwich?
If your property is in the St Mary's Conservation Area, then almost certainly yes. Bury Council made an Article 4 Direction over St Mary's in 2009 which removes the whole of the householder permitted development suite — GPDO Schedule 2, Part 1, Classes A through G. That means extensions, roof alterations, dormers, porches, outbuildings, driveways and even flues all need planning permission. It is one of only two Article 4 Directions in the entire borough of Bury.
Which streets are covered by the St Mary's Article 4 Direction?
The Direction applies to dwellings (excluding flats and apartments) fronting onto, and where elevations or gardens can be seen from, the following streets within the St Mary's Conservation Area: St Ann's Road, Prestwich Park Road South, Church Lane, Lowther Road, Butterstile Lane, Shrewsbury Road, Rectory Lane, Clarks Hill and Bury New Road. An itemised address annexe lists the individual properties — for example, on Prestwich Park Road South it names numbers 2 to 42 (even), 46, and numbers 3, 5, 5a, 7, 11, 15, 17, 19, 39 and 45 to 51 (odd). Two entries are marked as covering boundary walls only. Check your own address against the council's schedule rather than assuming your street is caught in full.
Is all of Prestwich a conservation area?
No — and this matters. Prestwich has two conservation areas: St Mary's, originally designated in 1993, and Poppythorn, designated in March 2004. Only St Mary's carries an Article 4 Direction. In Poppythorn the standard conservation area rules apply (no side extensions, no dormers or loft conversions under permitted development, no cladding, no larger home extension route) but the rest of your permitted development rights are intact. Establishing which of the two you are in — or whether you are in neither — is the first thing to do.
Do I need planning permission to lay a driveway in Prestwich?
In the St Mary's Conservation Area, yes. The 2009 Article 4 Direction removes Class F — "the provision within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse of a hard surface" — which is exactly what a driveway or patio is. Outside St Mary's, the normal permitted development rules apply, which generally allow a hard surface provided it is porous or drains to a permeable area.
How many Article 4 Directions does Bury have?
Only two, across twelve conservation areas: Holcombe, and St Mary's in Prestwich. Bury's own guidance explains the reasoning: "Some unlisted buildings of particular character within conservation areas may be considered worthy of further protection from unsympathetic alterations and development. This may be done by removing further permitted development rights by making Article 4 directions." St Mary's is one of the two the council judged worth it.
Does Bury have an Article 4 Direction for HMOs?
Not a confirmed one. As of the most recent Planning Control Committee papers, a borough-wide HMO Article 4 is still a proposal, not a made and confirmed direction. You may see claims online that one was confirmed — those appear to confuse Bury with another authority. Treat it as unconfirmed and check with the council before relying on it either way. It would in any case only affect converting a house into a small HMO, not extending your own home.
Who do I apply to?
Bury Council is the local planning authority for Prestwich, Whitefield, Radcliffe, Ramsbottom and Tottington. We prepare and submit householder planning applications and Lawful Development Certificates in-house, so you do not have to deal with the process yourself.
Building in Prestwich?
Book a free site visit and we'll check your address against the Article 4 schedule — before you spend a penny.