Conservation area (United Kingdom)

In the United Kingdom, the term conservation area almost always applies to an area (usually urban or the core of a village) of special architectural or historic interest, the character of which is considered worthy of preservation or enhancement. It creates a precautionary approach to the loss or alteration of buildings and/or trees, thus it has some of the legislative and policy characteristics of listed buildings and tree preservation orders. The concept was introduced in 1967, and by 2017 almost 9,800 had been designated in England.^[1][2]

As of 2019,^[update] 2.2% of England making up 2,938 km² (1,134 sq mi) is a conservation area, 59% of which are rural, and 41% are in urban areas.^[3]