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What is a conservation area worth?
Homes inside a conservation area against homes outside one — in the same postcode district, of the same property type, over the same period. It is the tightest comparison the data allows, and it needs designation boundaries and sold prices joined on the same postcode.
By property type
| Type | Comparisons | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | 1,351 | +22.6% |
| Semi-detached | 1,381 | +18.9% |
| Terraced | 1,501 | +13.5% |
| Flat | 1,323 | +6.6% |
Association, not cause
Conservation areas are drawn around places that were already attractive — Georgian terraces, village centres, seafronts. Much of this premium is the architecture that justified the designation, not the designation itself. Nothing here shows that designating an area raises its prices.
The spread matters too: the middle half of comparisons land between +1.5% and +34.7%, and 23.3% of them are lower inside than outside. Designation also brings real costs — consent for windows, doors, cladding and trees, and often an Article 4 direction removing permitted development.
Only postcodes tested as INSIDE a published boundary are counted. Designations placed by proximity are excluded entirely from this analysis.
Where the gap is widest
| District | Town | Type | Inside | Outside | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L8 | LIVERPOOL | Terraced | £477,500 | £92,500 | +416.2% |
| ST8 | STOKE-ON-TRENT | Flat | £367,500 | £79,498 | +362.3% |
| NW8 | LONDON | Detached | £29,000,000 | £6,662,500 | +335.3% |
| WC1A | LONDON | Flat | £3,315,000 | £772,500 | +329.1% |
| DL17 | FERRYHILL | Flat | £149,950 | £40,000 | +274.9% |
| TS27 | HARTLEPOOL | Terraced | £193,000 | £54,000 | +257.4% |
| L35 | PRESCOT | Flat | £285,000 | £80,000 | +256.2% |
| NE3 | NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE | Semi-detached | £755,000 | £216,250 | +249.1% |
| DE15 | BURTON-ON-TRENT | Flat | £265,000 | £78,500 | +237.6% |
| NE43 | STOCKSFIELD | Terraced | £530,000 | £157,250 | +237% |
| TS7 | MIDDLESBROUGH | Flat | £232,500 | £70,000 | +232.1% |
| BS40 | BRISTOL | Flat | £380,000 | £115,000 | +230.4% |
| N20 | LONDON | Flat | £1,250,000 | £385,000 | +224.7% |
| WA15 | ALTRINCHAM | Flat | £585,000 | £194,000 | +201.5% |
| OX2 | OXFORD | Semi-detached | £1,572,500 | £540,000 | +191.2% |
| DH8 | CONSETT | Flat | £150,000 | £53,500 | +180.4% |
| DL17 | FERRYHILL | Terraced | £125,000 | £45,000 | +177.8% |
| L19 | LIVERPOOL | Semi-detached | £670,000 | £242,000 | +176.9% |
| IP16 | LEISTON | Terraced | £462,500 | £169,998 | +172.1% |
| B1 | BIRMINGHAM | Terraced | £459,500 | £170,000 | +170.3% |
| PO15 | FAREHAM | Flat | £472,500 | £175,000 | +170% |
| CH42 | BIRKENHEAD | Detached | £620,000 | £230,000 | +169.6% |
| M30 | MANCHESTER | Semi-detached | £562,500 | £210,000 | +167.9% |
| BH12 | POOLE | Detached | £827,500 | £312,000 | +165.2% |
| CV2 | COVENTRY | Flat | £270,000 | £102,000 | +164.7% |