Conservatories in Birmingham: planning, conservation areas and installers

Permitted development in Birmingham

In England a conservatory is treated as a house extension. Under the national permitted development rules (Class A of the General Permitted Development Order), a single-storey rear conservatory usually does not need a planning application if it stays within limits including: no more than 3 metres beyond the original rear wall of an attached house or 4 metres for a detached house; no more than 4 metres high; eaves no higher than 3 metres if it is within 2 metres of a boundary; and extensions and outbuildings together covering no more than half the garden. The government’s technical guidance also allows a larger single-storey rear extension (up to 6 metres, or 8 metres for a detached house) through the prior approval process, where neighbours are consulted. Flats and maisonettes have no householder permitted development rights, and a planning condition on your estate may have removed them. Our guide to how permitted development works explains the tests.

Conservation areas and Article 4 directions in Birmingham

Birmingham City Council says there are 29 conservation areas in the city, ranging from the Jewellery Quarter to Bournville Village, and it maps their boundaries on its interactive map. The council lists Article 4 directions in these conservation areas:

• Austin Village
• Bournville Village
• Edgbaston (part)
• Greenfield Road (Harborne)
• High Street, Sutton Coldfield
• Moor Pool, Harborne
• Moseley
• Old Yardley
• Selly Park
• Selly Park Avenues
• St Agnes (Moseley)

In those areas, the council says, even minor residential alterations such as a porch, replacement windows or re-roofing need planning permission. Several other conservation areas are in suburbs where conservatories are common, including Four Oaks and Anchorage Road in Sutton Coldfield, Harborne Old Village, Kings Norton and Northfield Old Village, so check the map for your street before you rely on permitted development.

Even without an Article 4 direction, a conservation area is “article 2(3) land” under the national rules: side conservatories and the prior approval route for a larger rear extension are not available, and cladding the house is not permitted development. Read conservatories in conservation areas and on listed buildings and Article 4 directions explained.

If you live just outside the city, your council is different: Solihull, Sandwell and the other neighbouring boroughs run their own planning services and hold their own conservation area lists.

Planning and building control fees in Birmingham

Planning application fees are set nationally:

Birmingham City Council’s building consultancy service is provided by Acivico (Building Consultancy) Ltd. Its published domestic charges, including VAT, are:

Source: Acivico full plans (domestic) and building notice forms (acivicogroup.co.uk), read September 2026.

Separately from planning, a conservatory in England is exempt from the building regulations only if it is at ground level, under 30 square metres of floor area, separated from the house by external-quality walls, doors or windows, not heated by an extension of the house’s heating system, and glazed to the safety glazing rules. Take out the dividing doors, run radiators into it, or build a solid-roofed orangery that fails the definition, and it becomes an extension that needs building control approval. See the building regulations exemption.

Typical private prices

We have not found a reliable price survey for Birmingham alone, so use the national ranges in our UK conservatory costs guide. Checkatrade’s 2026 guide puts a 3.5m by 3.5m uPVC lean-to at £9,000–£11,500 and a uPVC Victorian at £12,000–£13,500, with timber versions costing more, and a 16 square metre hardwood orangery at about £30,000–£35,000. Any planning, prior approval or building control fees above come on top unless your quote says they are included.

How to choose an installer

• Who handles the paperwork. Ask in writing whether the firm will check permitted development, prepare any planning, prior approval or listed building consent application, and deal with building control if the design is not exempt. Our guide to surveys, contracts and payment stages covers what to agree.
• Glazing certification. If the job includes replacing windows or doors in the house itself, ask whether the installer is registered with a competent person scheme such as FENSA or Certass, and check the scheme’s own register. If not, building control has to sign that work off.
• Base, roof and drainage. Ask how the foundations are designed, what the roof is (glass, polycarbonate or solid), and where rainwater and any nearby drains go.
• Deposits and guarantees. Ask how much deposit is taken, whether it is protected, and what the guarantee covers if the firm stops trading.
• Compare like with like. Get at least two written quotes to the same specification.

Conservatory and orangery installers in Birmingham

These firms appear in public business listings for the Birmingham area. We have not checked their work, prices, insurance or memberships, and they have not paid to appear. Services are taken from the business name or listing only, so ask each firm what it actually builds.

You can also browse our conservatory options comparison or request quotes.

FAQs

Sources

• Planning Portal: Application Fees England, 1 April 2026 (planningportal.co.uk)
• Permitted development rights for householders: technical guidance (gov.uk)
• Birmingham’s conservation areas (birmingham.gov.uk)
• Extra protection for conservation areas: Article 4 directions (birmingham.gov.uk)
• Building Consultancy (birmingham.gov.uk)
• Full Plans (Domestic) Form; Building Notice Form (acivicogroup.co.uk)
• Conservation area dataset (planning.data.gov.uk)
• How much does a conservatory cost in the UK? 2026 prices (checkatrade.com)
• Orangery cost: Price breakdown 2026 (checkatrade.com)

Last checked: September 2026. Fees change, usually each April, so confirm the current figure with the council or installer before you rely on it.

Compare Conservatories is a comparison and referral service, not a conservatory installer. We do not design, build or approve conservatories, and a listing here is not a recommendation.