UK Planning News in 2026: conservation areas
15 July 2026
e planning row that says everything about why Britain can’t build
A 2mm window frame has delayed two new homes for months. The developer says it exposes a planning system that is making Britain harder to build.
A dispute over a 2mm difference in the width of a window frame has stalled the conversion of two long-empty floors into new homes on Worthing seafront, prompting fresh questions about whether conservation areas are increasingly being regulated as though they were listed buildings.
The property at 8–9 Arcade Buildings is not listed and carries no statutory heritage protection. Nevertheless, plans to convert its vacant upper floors into two energy-efficient homes have been delayed for more than two months after heritage advisers objected to the proposed aluminium windows and insisted on steel frames instead.
The developer, Perch, says the case illustrates a growing national problem: planning decisions being shaped by advisory heritage opinions that, while not legally binding, are often impossible to challenge in practice because of the cost and delay involved.
The heritage consultant advising Adur & Worthing Council acknowledges in his report that the building “enjoys no protection under legislation”. Despite this, he recommended replacing the proposed aluminium frames with steel, even though the visual difference amounts to just 2mm of frame width.
The financial impact is far greater.
Independent quotations obtained by Perch show the four front windows would cost £23,533 plus VAT in aluminium but £40,063 plus VAT in steel – an increase of almost £16,500, or around 70 per cent.
The consultant’s report also accepts that steel performs less well thermally, noting that “thermal performance would not be a mitigation for harm” and suggesting that energy efficiency standards can be relaxed where heritage interests are considered relevant.
Perch points out that the same consultant did not object to identical aluminium windows already installed on the ground floor of the building.
The wider scheme aligns closely with government housing priorities.
The upper floors have stood empty for at least 30 years. Perch is converting them into two low-carbon homes of around 100 square metres each—significantly larger than the average UK two-bedroom property—with heat pumps, solar panels and high-performance insulation.
Alexander Coombes, founder of Perch, said:
“We support protecting genuinely important heritage, but this building has no statutory protection. What we’ve discovered is that a building can effectively be regulated as though it were listed without any of the legal framework that listed status brings.
We’re bringing thirty years of empty space back into use, creating high-quality sustainable homes with heat pumps, solar panels and modern insulation. Yet work has been held up for months because of a 2mm difference in a window frame that nobody walking past would ever notice.”
Haydn Jones, Director of Saville Jones Architects, added:
“There is an important distinction between protecting heritage and enforcing subjective design preferences. Where those preferences add thousands of pounds to construction costs, reduce energy performance and delay new housing, it is reasonable to ask whether the planning system has the balance right.”
England has around 10,000 conservation areas, many containing buildings that are not listed and have no statutory protection. Perch believes its experience raises broader questions about whether advisory heritage opinions within conservation areas are increasingly carrying the practical force of law, despite there being no formal right of appeal.
The company is asking Adur & Worthing Council to approve the original aluminium specification so work can resume and the long-vacant building can finally return to residential use.
Comments on this brief reveiw of UK planning news and conservation areas disputes are welcome.
Previously on e-architect:
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UK homes with planning permission left unbuilt
UK Healthcare Estate Planning News
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UK Construction Industry recovery
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Comments / photos for the UK construction news: PMI, sector review page welcome
