How to achieve planning permission in the Cotswolds
— 20 August 2025
Understanding the challenges in achieving planning permission in the Cotswolds, and how to overcome them
Securing planning permission in the Cotswolds can be a complex process, particularly due to the region's unique environmental, historical and architectural significance. The Cotswolds National Landscape (formally AONB, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) makes up roughly 80% of the Cotswolds, making it the largest National Landscape in England. This designation is set up to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the region, renowned for is pretty villages, distinctive architecture and tranquil rural setting. Additionally, the Cotswolds contains 144 conservation areas, the most to be found within the UK, and a significant proportion of heritage buildings. These protections add extra layers of complexity when you are looking to make changes to a property.
With these restrictions in place, it does mean that permitted development rights may be more limited, so even seemingly minor changes might require full planning permission. With respect to any changes, they must be carefully designed to respect each policy and take into account materials, architectural design, and scale to ensure they are in keeping with the area's character.
When working on Cotswold Farmhouse, we took extensive steps to ensure the new replacement dwelling reflected the character of the fire-damaged predecessor, but with modern elements, so that from the front elevation, it looked almost unchanged. This was achieved through careful sourcing of matching Cotswold stone, and by undertaking detailed surveys of the remaining original windows to create exact replicas, helping to minimise the visual impact of the new building on the surroundings.
Get in touch to discuss how we can help you navigate the Cotswolds planning process.
Recent Cotswold Planning Updates
The Cotswold Planning Policies are always open to change and slight modifications, and therefore keeping informed of these changes is essential before starting any project. Many developments, which may typically fall under permitted development elsewhere, may still require full planning permission here.
A significant update is the rollout of the Cotswolds AONB (Outstanding Natural Beauty) Management Plan 2025-30. This document highlights key pressures on the landscape, including climate change, habitat loss, and unsustainable development. The plan sets out strategic goals to mitigate these issues, through proactive measures and collaborative planning and design, ensuring the landscape and environmental assessments are carried out at appropriate planning stages.
Get in touch to discuss how we can help you navigate the Cotswolds planning process.
How Architects can help you get planning permission
While it is possible to submit a planning application without an architect, working with professionals experienced in the Cotswolds to submit a planning application significantly increases your chances for approval, especially with the complexities around the Cotswolds many sensitive sites and complex constraints.
As architects, we understand the local planning nuances, and how to align your aspirations with the local Cotswolds planning policy and council expectations. We can prepare compelling, policy compliant and robust applications, and are well versed at collaborating with the local planning offices.
At our Round Hill project, we successfully reimagined a traditional village home and integrated a carefully designed contemporary extension to the classical dwelling. The design wasn’t modern for the sake of it, it is a modern design that carefully accentuates the original house, balancing the traditional and contemporary architecture. The scheme was achieved through careful understanding of the local planning, close collaboration with the planning officers and our clients, to deliver a modern family home that respects its heritage and setting.
Thinking of reimagining your home? Get in touch to discuss how we can help you.
Working with a Cotswolds Architect
As professional architects, we are creative thinkers who are able to turn our clients design aspirations into reality, helping to guide them through each step of the often complex journey. With our understanding of the local context, planning policies and site constraints, we are able to bring together the design aspirations with local knowledge of the Cotswolds setting, to deliver a design to fit the owner’s needs.
Our Forest House project involved replacing a simple timber-clad building on a fantastic woodland site near the town, with a contemporary home. Designed as two parallel, interlocking linear buildings with pitched, open gable roofs, the new home delivers significant internal volume while maintaining low-profile for such a large family home.
Throughout the design process we worked closely with planning consultants and the local planning department, to ensure the design was approved with limited conditions.
Working on Listed buildings in the Cotswolds
The Cotswolds is famous for their pretty villages, with a rich array of historic architecture that includes many listed properties. For a building to be ‘Listed’ means it has been identified as having special architectural or period interest by Historic England, this does not prevent you from making changes, however you must ensure that any alterations do not affect the buildings special architectural or historical interest. All alterations need to be pre-approved, as any unauthorised work is considered a criminal offence.
At Firefly Barn, a beautiful Cotswold stone agricultural barn, we transformed the almost derelict structure into a high-end holiday let, catering for the discerning tourist looking for an authentic, immersive Cotswold experience. The project involved obtaining a change of use and significant renovation work, to sensitively reimagine the building and celebrate the barn’s original character. Our in-depth knowledge, and close collaboration with Bourne Rural Planning Consultancy, helped to progress the projects through the delicate hurdles to ensure the vision was able to be achieved.
Whether you’re thinking about a renovation, extension, or new build in the Cotswolds, we can help guide you through the complexities of the planning process.
Get in touch to explore how we can help bring your vision to life while staying rooted in the spirit of the Cotswolds.