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Sash window planning rules in Sevenoaks: listed, conservation area, flat

Before choosing between uPVC, aluminium and timber, work out which of four situations your property is in. In Sevenoaks the answer is more often "no permission needed" than people expect, but the exceptions matter.

1. An unlisted house, outside a conservation area

Replacing windows with ones of similar appearance is permitted development. No application is needed. Building regulations still apply, which a FENSA-registered installer certifies for you.

2. An unlisted house inside a conservation area

Sevenoaks District has 41 conservation areas. In the town they are the High Street, Hartslands, Kippington and Oakhill Road, Granville and Eardley Road, The Vine, Vine Court, Wildernesse and Brittains Farm. For a house, conservation area status alone does not remove the right to replace windows like for like. What can remove it is an Article 4 direction.

We have searched the council's conservation area pages and appraisals for Sevenoaks town and the nine villages on this site and have not found an Article 4 direction controlling windows in force in any of them. Three things are worth knowing:

  • The Otford appraisal recommended an Article 4(2) direction to stop further loss of historic detail. We have not found that one was made.
  • The Westerham appraisal considered a direction covering windows, doors and boundaries and decided against it for now, mainly because few houses were affected.
  • Kemsing's direction, resolved in July 2023, covers front boundaries and front gardens, not windows.

Even without a direction, the appraisals are clear about what looks wrong: changed opening sizes, missing bars and cheap plastic. Matching the originals is good practice, and it is what this site recommends.

3. A flat or maisonette

A flat or maisonette carries none of a house's permitted development rights over windows, so in a converted Sevenoaks villa, new frames need a planning application. The appraisal for The Vine records that uPVC windows in flats on St Botolph's Road required planning permission. In a conservation area, expect the council to look closely at the material and the pattern.

4. A listed building

Any change to the windows of a listed building needs listed building consent, and replacing them without it is a criminal offence. Officers will usually expect timber, often a like-for-like copy. Repair, slim double glazing in the existing frame, or secondary glazing inside are the common routes. Secondary glazing for a sash opening of about 900 by 1800mm costs an indicative £450 to £1,200 including VAT, a market range rather than a quote.

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