Planning

Planning for replacement windows in Dorking: listed, Article 4 or free

For most houses in Dorking and the villages, choosing new windows needs no one's permission. This page is for the minority where it does, and for anyone who is not sure which group they are in.

Which case are you?

1. Is the building listed? If yes, read listed buildings.
2. If not, is it in a conservation area where an Article 4 direction applies? In Mole Valley that means parts of the Dorking, Brockham and Leatherhead conservation areas. If yes, read Article 4 streets.
3. If not, is it a flat or maisonette? If yes, read flats.
4. If none of these, the choice is yours. Read everyone else.

Listed buildings

Dorking's conservation area alone holds well over a hundred listed buildings: along the High Street, West Street and South Street, on Rose Hill, Dene Street, Spring Gardens and Cotmandene, and in North Street. Brockham has 37, Mickleham 21, Westcott 14, Leigh 8 and Newdigate 7 within their conservation areas, with more outside them.

If your home is listed, any window work that affects its character needs listed building consent from Mole Valley District Council, whether or not planning permission is also needed. In practice that means repairing the existing windows where possible, or replacing them in timber to the same pattern. uPVC is very unlikely to be accepted.

Where the original windows can be kept, secondary glazing fitted inside them is often the better route, because nothing on the outside changes. As an indicative market range, not a quote, a secondary glazing unit for a typical sash opening of about 900 by 1800 mm costs £450 to £1,200 including VAT, supplied and fitted.

Article 4 streets

An Article 4 direction removes permitted development rights that would otherwise apply. Mole Valley says its directions are designed to protect features that give the streets of a conservation area their special interest, and they cover parts of the Dorking, Brockham and Leatherhead conservation areas.

In Dorking, the 1890s artisan terraces of Hart Road and Hart Gardens, Jubilee Terrace, Vincent Road, Rothes Road and parts of Mill Lane, Ansell Road, Rosehill and Dene Street Gardens were named in a council proposal to bring them under these controls, covering changes such as altering a window or door, repainting the outside and altering a chimney or roof. The council's Article 4 maps show exactly which addresses are covered.

If it is, you need planning permission before changing the front windows. An application that closely copies the originals in shape, bar pattern, opening method and colour has the best chance. Timber is the safest option; a well-detailed uPVC sash may or may not be accepted, and the surveyor will tell you honestly which way a case is likely to go.

Conservation area, no Article 4

Mole Valley has 26 conservation areas, including Dorking, Pixham Lane, Westcott, Milton Street, Brockham, Mickleham, Leigh and Newdigate. Most of their area is not covered by an Article 4 direction. There, a house owner can normally replace windows under permitted development, as long as the new windows are of similar appearance to the house. That is the reason heritage-look frames suit these streets so well: they keep the appearance and so stay within the rules.

Flats and maisonettes

Flats do not have the householder permitted development rights that houses have. A change that materially alters how the outside looks, such as a new material or a different opening style, usually needs planning permission, and the freeholder's consent under the lease as well. This matters for flats above the shops on the High Street.

Everyone else

Most homes in Dorking, including the interwar roads, the post-war estates and most of North Holmwood and Westhumble, can have new windows without an application. Building regulations still apply: replacement windows must meet thermal and safety standards, and a FENSA-registered installer can certify the work for you.

How to check your address

• Look up your property on Mole Valley's property information service, which shows planning constraints.
• For listed status, search the National Heritage List on the Historic England website.
• Ask the council at planning@molevalley.gov.uk. It offers formal written pre-application advice, though not informal conservation advice.
• Or ask the surveyor, who checks the position for every address before quoting.