What planning rules in Ealing catch homeowners out?

Ealing is one of those boroughs where homeowners confidently start work, then discover — too late — that their property sits in a layer of local restrictions they didn't know existed. The rules aren't just about what you're building. They depend on where you live, how your property is classified, and what overlapping designations apply to your specific address. WhatCanIBuild exists precisely because that combination is almost impossible to untangle without the right data.

Conservation areas aren't always obvious

Ealing has a significant number of conservation areas spread across the borough — covering parts of W5, W3, W7, W13, UB1, and UB2. Most homeowners know roughly what a conservation area is. Far fewer know whether their property is actually inside one, or what that means for their specific project.

Being in a conservation area doesn't automatically mean you need planning permission for everything. But it does change what's permitted, and those changes are not uniform across all project types. The tricky part is that two houses on the same street can sometimes be treated differently depending on how boundaries fall. Most homeowners don't realise they're inside a conservation area until someone tells them — often after the work is done.

Article 4 directions: the rule most people have never heard of

This is the one that catches Ealing homeowners out more than almost anything else. A local planning authority can issue an Article 4 direction, which removes permitted development rights that would normally apply nationally. In Ealing, Article 4 directions apply in several areas and have been used to restrict changes to front elevations and boundaries.

What that means in practice: work you could legally do without any application in a neighbouring street might require a full £258 planning application on yours. There's no obvious sign on your house. No notification drops through your letterbox when a direction is made. The best way to find out whether an Article 4 direction affects your property — and what it actually restricts — is to check your specific address.

It's not just about conservation areas and Article 4s

Those are the two most common trip-wires, but they're not the whole picture. Listed building status, flood zone designations, and whether your home was originally created through a change of use can all affect what you're allowed to do — and how the council is likely to respond when you apply.

More importantly: knowing you're in a conservation area is not the same as knowing what the council has actually approved or refused for properties like yours. Two homeowners in the same conservation area can have very different approval prospects depending on what similar projects nearby have looked like, how the council has decided recent applications, and how your specific combination of constraints plays out.

WhatCanIBuild pulls together what's been approved and refused on your street, how your constraints combine, and what that actually means for your project — not just the generic rules, but the pattern of decisions that tells you what your odds really look like.

If you're planning any external work in Ealing — an extension, a loft conversion, changes to a boundary — the best way to avoid an expensive mistake is to check your address before you do anything else. WhatCanIBuild gives you a picture that no general guide can.