Do I need planning permission in Medway?

Planning permission in Medway sounds like a simple yes or no question — until you realise how many layers sit underneath it. What's allowed on one street in Chatham or Rochester might be refused on the next, and most homeowners don't realise how much their individual property's status shapes what they can actually build. WhatCanIBuild exists precisely because the general rules only get you so far.

The rules aren't the same everywhere in Medway

Medway is a larger, more varied council area than most people appreciate. ME1 in Rochester city centre looks nothing like the edges of ME8 in Rainham or rural pockets near the Kent Downs. Permitted development — the category of work that technically doesn't need a formal planning application — sounds reassuring, but it comes with conditions that shift depending on where your property sits.

Medway borders the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and properties on or near that boundary fall under Article 1(5) land designations. That alone restricts certain types of work that would otherwise be fine elsewhere in the borough. Do you know whether your postcode is affected? Most homeowners don't.

Conservation areas and Article 4 directions change everything

Medway has 24 conservation areas covering parts of Rochester, Chatham, and several other neighbourhoods. If your property sits within one, external changes — things as straightforward as replacing windows or adding a satellite dish — can require permission that wouldn't be needed two streets away.

Then there are the 47 Article 4 directions affecting specific streets across the borough. These remove permitted development rights that would otherwise apply, meaning works you assumed were fine could actually require a full application. Most homeowners have never heard of an Article 4 direction, let alone checked whether one applies to their address.

And with 1,292 listed buildings recorded in Medway, the chance that your home — or a neighbour's property that affects your plans — carries a listing is higher than you'd think. Listed building consent operates entirely separately from planning permission, and the rules are strict.

The real risk of getting it wrong

Unauthorised work in Medway doesn't just mean a fine. It can create serious problems when you come to sell, remortgage, or extend further down the line. Enforcement action can require you to undo completed work at your own cost. And if you submit an application that was never going to be approved — because of constraints you didn't know about — you've spent £548 and eight weeks finding that out the hard way.

The best way to understand what actually applies to your specific address — not just the general rules — is to use WhatCanIBuild. It goes beyond listing the constraints on your property and shows you what's been approved and refused for similar projects nearby, and what that means for your actual chances.

Knowing you're in a conservation area is one thing. Knowing what that means for a loft conversion or rear extension on your specific street, based on how Medway Council has decided comparable applications, is something most homeowners never find out until it's too late.

WhatCanIBuild gives you that picture before you commit to anything.