Contents

  1. Overview
  2. List of conservation areas

Conservation areas are places of special architectural or historic interest that we want to preserve and enhance. In these areas there may be extra planning controls to protect the local character.

General guidance on planning permission is available on the government's Planning Portal and in the planning advice section of our website.

Find out if you live in a conservation area

You can find out if you live in a conservation area by:

List of conservation areas

You can view the documentation and guidance we produce about each conservation area in our conservation areas list.

Planning permission for specific alterations

In the John Innes Merton Park and Wilton Crescent conservation areas, you will need to apply for planning permission to make the changes outlined in these directions:

If you have a question about a conservation area, please contact:

Development Control
020 8545 3777
Planning@merton.gov.uk

Our conservation role

We review and monitor the boundaries of existing conservation areas and assess new areas for potential conservation status.

When we assess the character of a potential conservation area, we look at:

  • the history, archaeology and origins of the area
  • the architecture and age of the buildings
  • street patterns and the layout of property boundaries
  • the use or mixed of uses of the area
  • possible threats to the existing character
  • the quality of trees or other vegetation
  • the character and hierarchy of spaces