Listed and conservation ยท In brief
Conservation areas in Cambridge and South Cambs
Cambridge conservation areas number 18, all with appraisals. South Cambs has 85, of which 22 have appraisals. Greater Cambridge Planning covers both, so ask there what your address's status means for flues, pipes and pumps.
Most useful for: Owners and buyers in Cambridge and South Cambs before visible work
Compiled from the sources at the end. Updated .
Controls are stricter in a conservation area, and the council's page explains how it treats repairs compared with replacement. Cambridge City's conservation pages now redirect to the shared service, so there is one place to ask for both councils.
Which names appear?
Appraisal titles on the council's page for Cambridge include Barrow Road, Brooklands Avenue, Castle and Victoria Road, Central (Historic Core), Conduit Head Road, De Freville, Howes Place, Mill Road, New Town and Glisson Road, Newnham Croft, Riverside and Stourbridge Common, Southacre, Storey's Way, The Kite, Trumpington and West Cambridge. Boundaries may not follow neighbourhood names, so check the appraisal's map and not the street name alone.
An appraisal can tell you what the council values on your street, which helps when a flue or outdoor unit is planned. New Town's describes gault brick and slate roofs. The Riverside appraisal, from March 2012, says the "majority of the area is in the floodplain", so also check flood risk there. Villages vary too: Sawston's dates from June 2023 and Waterbeach's from 1999. In South Cambs, 63 of the 85 areas have no appraisal, and that does not mean an absence of controls.
Do Article 4 directions apply to houses here?
Rarely, on the council's current list, but check your own address. The list shows 28 directions, 18 of them restricting demolition, mostly of named pubs. Only one restricts alterations to dwellings: the Accordia estate. Appraisals for Newnham Croft (2013), New Town (2012) and Riverside (2012) recommended considering Article 4, but none appears as made for those areas.
Before work starts, ask the conservation officer whether your job needs anything. For specifics, see the rules for heat pumps and Part L. A listed home inside an area has extra consent questions on top.
Sources, read 4 November 2026: Greater Cambridge Planning: conservation areas; Greater Cambridge Planning: conservation area appraisals; Greater Cambridge Planning: what needs planning permission in a conservation area; Greater Cambridge Planning: local planning restrictions; New Town and Glisson Road appraisal; Riverside and Stourbridge Common appraisal; Sawston appraisal, June 2023; Waterbeach appraisal, 1999.