Conservation areas - further information

A Conservation Area is an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to enhance or preserve.

Designating a Conservation Area

Designation of Conservation Areas is the responsibility of the Cabinet Office, Planning policy section.

Living in a Conservation Area

Because of the special nature of Conservation Areas, there are tighter planning controls and obligations in respect of demolition, new development, property alterations, advertisements and signs.

As a rule of thumb all properties within a Conservation Area are excluded from all permitted development which means that Planning Approval is required in most instances. Any queries should be directed to the Department. Please telephone +44 1624 685950 or email: buildingconservation@gov.im.

Because of the special nature of Conservation Areas, there are tighter planning controls and obligations in respect of demolition, new development, property alterations and advertisements and signs. Below are some useful links which provide some information on property maintenance and building conservation

Where are the Conservation Areas in the Isle of Man?

In the Isle of Man, there are 20 designated Conservation Areas. These are:

Please click on any of the above to view a map showing the extent of the area.

The designation of these Conservation Areas has been informed by research undertaken in either the Cullen Reports for Castletown and Peel in 1971 or the Conservation Area Character Appraisals

Conservation Area Character Appraisals 

In order to justify the selection of an area for Conservation area status, it is necessary to undertake an appraisal of such an area’s character and appearance.

The principal aims of character appraisals are to define:-

  • What influences have given the conservation area its particular character;
  • What chiefly reflects this character and what is most worth conserving;
  • What has suffered damage or loss and may need reinstating;
  • Areas that may be improved by redevelopment.

It is the quality and interest of areas, rather than that of individual buildings, which should be the prime consideration in identifying conservation areas. Our experience of historic areas depends on much more than the quality of individual buildings – on the historic layout of property boundaries and thoroughfares; on a particular mix of uses; on characteristic local materials; on appropriate scaling and detailing of contemporary buildings; on the quality of advertisements, shop fronts, street furniture and hard and soft surfaces; on vistas along streets and between buildings; and on the extent to which traffic intrudes and limits pedestrian use of spaces between buildings. Conservation area designation is seen as the means of recognising the importance of all these factors and of ensuring that conservation policy addresses the quality of townscape in its broadest sense as well as protecting individual buildings.

Character Appraisals are intended to recognise the conservation area’s special historic, archaeological and architectural interest through maps, photographs and analysis of the area’s development.

Douglas Prom Conservation Area Part 1 of 2
Douglas Prom Conservation Area Part 2 of 2
Glen Wyllin Conservation Area Part 1 of 3
Glen Wyllin Conservation Area Part 2 of 3
Glen Wyllin Conservation Area Part 3 of 3
Kirk Michael Conservation Area Part 1 of 4
Kirk Michael Conservation Area Part 2 of 4
Kirk Michael Conservation Area Part 3 of 4
Kirk Michael Conservation Area Part 4 of 4

Cullen Reports for Castletown and Peel

Historical background material on Castletown and Peel produced in May 1971 before the Conservation Area were designated.

Cullen Report for Castletown – May 1971 

Cullen report for Peel – May 1971 

Funding

The Department currently has no financial provision for its grant scheme.