If your house is on greenbelt, you may be wondering whether you can get your UPVC windows spray-painted a different colour without notifying your local planning authority of your proposed changes. So, what’s the deal?
What you need to know
The advice that you DO NOT NEED permission for exterior decorating DOES NOT NECESSARILY apply to greenbelt and conservation areas.
Conservation Areas, National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and World Heritage Sites have rules that are similar to listed building consent.
This is to say that houses on greenbelt can be subject to planning laws that ask the homeowner to apply for permission to change the exterior appearance of their house.
The only way to know if this applies to you is to contact your local planning authority because different authorities have different rules.
Better to be safe than sorry
If you live on greenbelt or in any official Conservation Areas, National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty or World Heritage Sites, you should contact your local planning authority for concrete advice about your situation.
The punishment for making unauthorised changes to a building that is listed is a possible unlimited fine and two years in prison. The punishment for houses on greenbelt and in Conservation Areas can be similar. Because of this, it’s better to seek clarity than go ahead with work without it. Ignorance isn’t bliss.
Our experience of the situation
In our experience, having spray-painted over a hundred homes on greenbelt and in conservation areas, no permission is needed from a planning authority to spray paint windows on greenbelt, except if the building is Grade II and Grade II listed, in which case a different law applies – listed building consent.
One of our customers who lived in a Conservation Area came to us after replacing her timber windows with UPVC windows. She had these approved by the council but wanted them painting afterwards. The council granted her permission to change the colour of her windows, so we performed the work legally.
The bottom line is this – if you live on greenbelt, contact your local council and ask them to clarify the situation. It’s the only way to be 100% sure.
