Class C demolition of gates, fences and walls

Class C of Part 11 grants planning permission for the demolition of the whole or any part of a gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure, but only where the demolition is not relevant demolition in a conservation area.

There is an important twist. Outside a conservation area, demolition of the whole or part of a gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure is normally not development at all under the Town and Country Planning (Demolition – Description of Buildings) Direction 2021. In those cases you do not normally need Class C because planning permission is not required for the demolition in the first place.

Class C becomes particularly important in a conservation area, because the 2021 Direction deliberately removes that exemption there. You then need to decide whether the wall, fence, gate or enclosure is excluded from relevant demolition and can therefore use Class C.

For the full sequence, including the separate 50 m³ and 115 m³ rules for buildings, see our detailed guide to Class B demolition and relevant demolition.

Class C in a conservation area

The Conservation Areas Direction 2015 excludes certain walls, gates, fences and other means of enclosure from section 74 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. They are not relevant demolition where they are:

• less than 1 metre high where they abut a highway, including a public footpath or bridleway, a waterway or open space
• less than 2 metres high in any other case

Because demolition of such an enclosure in a conservation area is development under the 2021 Direction, Class C is the permitted development right which can grant the planning permission. Class B is not required for a wall, gate or fence.

If the enclosure is at or above the relevant 1 metre or 2 metre threshold, the demolition may be relevant demolition under section 196D of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Class C expressly does not permit relevant demolition, so a planning application may then be required.

Class C can cover part of a wall or enclosure

Unlike Class B, Class C expressly covers demolition of the whole or any part of a gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure. But that wording does not allow relevant demolition to bypass section 196D.

In Barton v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Bath and North East Somerset Council [2017] EWHC 573 (Admin), the High Court considered the removal of a pedestrian gate, lintel and approximately 2.5 metres of historic wall in Bath Conservation Area. The court upheld the Inspector’s conclusion that the works amounted to demolition and confirmed that, under the post-2013 section 196D regime, demolition of part of a building can be caught.

This means that describing work as “only part of the wall” is not enough. The height thresholds, the nature of the structure and whether the work is demolition rather than alteration all need to be considered.

Article 4 directions and other controls still matter

Class C can be removed by an Article 4 direction or restricted by a condition on an earlier planning permission. Separate controls can also apply where the enclosure forms part of a listed building or scheduled monument, or where other legislation is engaged.

If full planning permission is required for demolition in a conservation area, the decision-maker must also apply the conservation-area duty in section 72 and the current heritage policies in the August 2026 NPPF. Our heritage significance and harm guide explains that assessment.

Current Class C legislation

Class C – demolition of gates, fences, walls etc

Permitted development

C. Any building operation consisting of the demolition of the whole or any part of any gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure.

Development not permitted

C.1 Development is not permitted by Class C if the demolition is “relevant demolition” for the purposes of section 196D of the Act (demolition of an unlisted etc building in a conservation area)

Conservation, Heritage & Protected Sites

Class C Demolition Page Updated: 20th August 2026