A separate consent in addition to planning permission is required for demolition in conservation areas. This is known as Conservation Area Consent and alternatively as “consent for demolition in a Conservation Area” and applications carry the suffix /DCA.

Section 105 of the Planning Act (NI) 2011 requires that ‘where any area is for the time being designated as a conservation area special attention shall be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing its character or appearance’.