Block Management in Malmesbury
An Article 4 in roughly fifty parcels, and flood warnings that name streets.
For RMCs, RTM companies and freeholders in Malmesbury, Plymouth Block Management provides block, estate and leasehold management with fees published up front. An Article 4 direction covers roughly fifty small parcels inside the conservation area, and what it removes is not published. The Tetbury Avon and Sherston Avon warning areas name streets such as Gloucester Road and St Johns Street.
What We Would Put First for a Block in Malmesbury
Ask the Council About Article 4 Early
Malmesbury's direction covers roughly fifty parcels totalling 4.5 hectares, all in the conservation area, and its scope is unpublished. For a block there we would put the question to Wiltshire Council before scoping any external works.
ConsentsMap the Block Against Named Flood Streets
The Tetbury Avon area names Park Road, Poole Road and Mill Lane, and the Sherston Avon area names The Maltings and Inner Silk Mills. We would confirm whether the block falls in either and reflect it in the insurance placement.
InsuranceRecommend Radon Measurement Town-Wide
All seven squares over Malmesbury return class 2, where radon measurement is advised, although the band itself is a low one. We would recommend measurement in ground-level communal areas and keep the readings on the compliance record.
ComplianceAllow Consent Time in Section 20
With 318 listed entries in the built-up area, six of them Grade I, consent is a likely step for external works. We would build that time into any Section 20 consultation and specification so leaseholders see a realistic programme.
Major works and Section 20Managing a Block in Malmesbury at a Glance
- Local authority
- Wiltshire Council
- Authority type
- Unitary
- Building control
- Wiltshire Council Building Control
- County
- Wiltshire
- Fire and rescue service
- Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service
- Water and sewerage
- Wessex Water
- From our Plymouth office
- About 122 miles in a straight line
- Setting
- Inland
What It Costs to Move a Block in Malmesbury to Us
Management is a fixed annual fee, quoted for the building and agreed before we start. We take no commission and no third-party incentives, so the fee is the whole of what we earn from the building. Taking a block on carries a one-off start-up fee, set by size:
| Block size | Fee |
|---|---|
| Start-up fee, up to 10 units | £420.00 |
| Start-up fee, up to 25 units | £540.00 |
| Start-up fee, 50 units and above | £660.00 |
Taken from our published Additional Services price list, PBM Form #01-27 rev.6, effective 23 June 2025. All fees quoted are inclusive of VAT. See the full price list and how a handover works.
Ask the Council What the Article 4 Direction Removes
An Article 4 direction applies in Malmesbury. It is not a single block but roughly fifty discrete small parcels totalling 4.5 hectares, all of them inside the conservation area. That is the pattern produced by a direction applied to individual dwellinghouses rather than to whole streets. What it removes is not published, and its parcels are given only as coordinates rather than streets. The existence of the direction can be relied on but its scope cannot, so the council has to be asked. For a building inside the conservation area, that question should be asked before any external works are specified.
Purpose-Built Blocks Hold Most of Malmesbury's Flats
Malmesbury straddles two wards, and the Malmesbury ward figure badly understates it. The ward alone gives 185 purpose-built flats, but the town actually holds 332. Four of its output areas sit in the neighbouring Sherston ward and contribute 144 purpose-built flats, which is 92 per cent of that ward's entire purpose-built stock. The town's own boundary gives 3,109 households with 477 in flats, 15.3 per cent. Of these, 332 are in purpose-built blocks, 43 in a converted or shared house, 55 in another converted building and 47 over commercial premises. The ward figure alone would understate the town's purpose-built flats by 44 per cent. Most flats here are in purpose-built blocks, where the roof, communal areas and fire safety duties sit with the RMC or freeholder.
Two Avon Branches, with Streets Named in Warnings
Malmesbury sits where the two headwater branches of the Bristol Avon meet, and the Environment Agency's warning areas here name streets. The Tetbury Avon warning area covers 5.70 per cent of the built-up area and names Park Road, Poole Road, Gloucester Road, Mill Lane and Baskerville. The Sherston Avon warning area covers 2.73 per cent and names Westport Bridge, The Maltings, St Johns Bridge, St Johns Street, Inner Silk Mills and The Mulberries. Above them, the upper Bristol Avon alert covers 11.15 per cent of the town, and two further warning areas clip it at under one per cent each. So a block here can be given a specific answer rather than a general one. Groundwater is not a designated issue: the nearest Environment Agency groundwater flood area is about 29 kilometres away. No defence scheme is published, and Malmesbury does not appear in the national programme of flood schemes funded between April 2026 and March 2027. For insurance, the block's position against the named streets should be stated at each renewal.
315 of 318 Listed Entries Sit in the Conservation Area
One conservation area. The national register carries no designation date for it, and the adoption date of its appraisal is not published. It covers 76.8 hectares, but only 52.5 of those fall inside the built-up area, and the rest lies outside the town in the river meadows. The part that does overlap covers 22.7 per cent of the built-up area. For a block inside it, external alterations should be checked against conservation area controls before they are specified.
318 entries on the National Heritage List fall inside the built-up area: six Grade I, fourteen Grade II* and 298 Grade II. 315 of the 318 sit inside the conservation area. The six Grade I buildings are the Abbey Church of St Mary and St Aldhelm, the Court House behind number 27, The Cross, Abbey House, St Pauls bell tower and the Old Bell Hotel. All of them were listed on the same day in January 1949. The figures are counted from Historic England's open data. For a block in the centre, listing should be checked before any external or internal works are specified.
Every Square over Malmesbury Reads Class 2
Uniform, and uniformly in the band where measurement is advised. All seven one-kilometre squares over the built-up area return class 2, so the whole town reads the same. The published wording is that some parts of the square are in bands of elevated radon potential. The maximum radon potential is 1 to 3 per cent of homes at or above the action level. The advice is that radon measurement is advised, though the band itself is a low one. For a block, measurement in ground-floor flats and communal areas belongs in the compliance programme.
The Withdrawn Local Plan Leaves the Core Strategy in Place
Decided under the Wiltshire Core Strategy, adopted 20 January 2015 for the period to 2026 against a requirement of 42,000 homes. The emerging Wiltshire Local Plan reached examination in November 2024 but was withdrawn on 22 May 2026 under section 22 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Its replacement is not expected to be adopted before 30 April 2029. The council states that the 2015 Core Strategy's policies are not automatically out of date, despite its plan period having run to 2026, and will continue to guide development. About 3 per cent of the built-up area lies inside the Cotswolds National Landscape, so Malmesbury touches the Cotswolds without being in them in any meaningful sense. For a block, applications for alterations or extra flats will be judged against the 2015 Core Strategy until its replacement is adopted.
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Malmesbury Questions
What Does the Malmesbury Article 4 Direction Actually Remove?
That is not published, and its parcels are given only as coordinates rather than streets. Its existence can be relied on but its scope cannot. For a building inside the conservation area, Wiltshire Council has to be asked early, before any external works are scoped.
Is Groundwater Flooding a Risk in Malmesbury?
Groundwater is not a designated issue: the nearest Environment Agency groundwater flood area is about 29 kilometres away. The risk comes from the two headwater branches of the Bristol Avon meeting at the town. No defence scheme is published, and Malmesbury does not appear in the national programme of flood schemes funded between April 2026 and March 2027.
Why Do Flat Counts for Malmesbury Vary Between Sources?
The town straddles two wards. Quoting the Malmesbury ward alone gives 185 purpose-built flats, but four of the town's output areas sit in Sherston ward and contribute 144 more. On the town's own boundary there are 3,109 households with 477 in flats, 15.3 per cent, including 332 in purpose-built blocks.
Nearby Areas
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