Planning permission in Hillingdon
Constraints: planning.data.gov.uk (ingested 2026-06-15) · Prices: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index, October 2025 · 187 sales in October 2025 · Open Government Licence
Planning in Hillingdon — the detail
Hillingdon is London's second-largest borough by area, running from the Metro-land suburbs of Ruislip, Eastcote and Northwood, through Uxbridge and Hayes, to Heathrow and the Colne Valley regional park on its western edge — much of it Green Belt. Its conservation areas protect a string of historic village cores — Ruislip Village, Eastcote Village, Harefield Village, Ickenham Village, Harmondsworth Village (with its medieval tithe barn) and Old Uxbridge — and the Eastcote Park and Northwood estates.
Hillingdon's Article 4 directions are unusually wide-ranging and recorded in the national dataset. They include a borough-wide HMO direction (requiring planning permission to convert a house to a small HMO), a direction removing the permitted development right to add residential extensions in defined areas, and directions controlling commercial-to-residential conversion and the demolition-and-rebuild of commercial buildings. The result is that the permitted-development fallback is removed in more situations here than in most boroughs.
Outside the conservation areas, Green Belt and Article 4 areas, much of Hillingdon's suburban stock keeps permitted development rights for rear extensions, side extensions and loft conversions. The address-level check is decisive — Green Belt, a conservation area, or one of the borough's several Article 4 directions can all change the route.
Policy detail lives in the Hillingdon local plan and applications are submitted via the Hillingdon planning portal.
Conservation areas in Hillingdon
Real · planning.data.gov.ukEvery designated conservation area in Hillingdon from the official dataset — inside one, permitted development narrows and design scrutiny rises.
- Black Jacks Lock
- Botwell: Nestles
- Botwell: Thorn EMI
- Bulls Bridge
- Copper Mill Lock
- Coppermill Lock
- Cowley Church (St. Laurence)
- Cowley Lock
- Denham Lock
- Eastcote (Morford Way)
- Eastcote Park Estate
- Eastcote Village
- Harefield Village
- Harlington Village
- Harmondsworth Village
- Hayes Village
- Hillingdon Village
- Ickenham Village
- Longford Village
- Northwood Town Centre, Green Lane
- Northwood, Frithwood
- Old Uxbridge / Windsor Street
- Rockingham Bridge, Uxbridge
- Ruislip Village
- Ruislip, Manor Way
- Springwell Lock
- The Glen, Northwood
- The Greenway
- Uxbridge Moor
- West Drayton Green
- Widewater Lock
Source: planning.data.gov.uk · Open Government Licence. Boundaries are checked at address level by the area report.
Article 4 directions in Hillingdon
Real · planning.data.gov.ukHillingdon's Article 4 directions are recorded in the national dataset and are unusually wide-ranging: a borough-wide HMO direction (planning permission to convert a house to a small HMO), a direction removing permitted development for residential extensions in defined areas, and directions controlling commercial-to-residential conversion and the demolition-and-rebuild of commercial buildings. Green Belt covers much of the borough's west. Use the area report, or the council's Article 4 register, for the direction that applies at a given address.
Source: planning.data.gov.uk · Open Government Licence · 4 directions recorded. Checked at address level by the area report.
What gets built in Hillingdon
Ruislip, Eastcote and Uxbridge stock extends under PD; the village conservation areas, Green Belt and the borough's extension Article 4 can need a full application.
Costs & planning route →Workable on the Uxbridge and Hayes terraces; the village conservation areas and the borough's Article 4 directions can need a full application.
Costs & planning route →Strong on the Ruislip and Eastcote semis under PD; the village conservation areas scrutinise dormer design.
Costs & planning route →Uncommon on the borough's suburban plots; a full application with structural and ground-condition evidence is expected, with Green Belt limits in the west.
Costs & planning route →Large suburban and Green Belt-edge gardens suit garden rooms under PD; conservation areas and the borough's Article 4 directions are where outbuilding rights tighten.
Costs & planning route →Hillingdon postcode by postcode
UB10 covers Hillingdon village and eastern Uxbridge — the Hillingdon Village conservation area among them. Hillingdon's wide-rangi…
Area report →UB8 is Uxbridge — the Old Uxbridge / Windsor Street and Uxbridge Moor conservation areas and the Grand Union Canal. Conservation d…
Area report →HA4 covers Ruislip and Eastcote — the Ruislip Village, Eastcote Village and Eastcote Park Estate conservation areas, with Ruislip …
Area report →HA6 is Northwood — the Frithwood and Green Lane conservation areas and the wooded, higher-value streets on the borough's northern …
Area report →UB7 covers West Drayton and Harmondsworth — the West Drayton Green and Harmondsworth Village conservation areas (the latter with i…
Area report →Hillingdon planning, asked straight
Do I need planning permission to create an HMO in Hillingdon?
Could an Article 4 direction affect my Hillingdon extension?
Is my Hillingdon property in the Green Belt or a conservation area?
Do I need planning permission for a rear extension or loft in Hillingdon?
How do I check constraints for a Hillingdon address?
Related reading
The designation nobody's heard of until it refuses their extension.
Read the guide →Designated land edits the rulebook — here's the exact redline.
Read the guide →Real ranges from real projects — not brochure numbers.
Read the guide →What applies at your address?
Borough-level rules only narrow it down. Enter a Hillingdon postcode for the live constraint check — conservation area, Article 4 and sold-price comparables, cited to source.
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