Block Management in Winchcombe
A Cotswold town governed by Tewkesbury Borough, where repainting can need planning permission.
In Winchcombe we offer RMCs, RTM companies and freeholders complete block management, from reserve planning and service charge accounts to lease consents. A 1987 Article 4 direction over about 16 per cent of the town removes the right to paint the exterior, and a quarter of the built-up area is conservation area. The town sits in Tewkesbury Borough, not Cotswold District, with building control shared with Cheltenham.
What We Would Put First for a Block in Winchcombe
Establish the Article 4 Boundary with the Council
Winchcombe's 1987 direction removes the right to paint the exterior across about 16 per cent of the town, and the published map has no street schedule. We would confirm with Tewkesbury Borough Council whether the block is covered before a redecoration cycle.
ConsentsPlan Radon Measurement by Kilometre Square
Four of the seven squares over Winchcombe are class 2 and two are class 4 at 5 to 10 per cent, while one is in the lowest band. We would check which applies and recommend communal area measurement where advised.
ComplianceState the Isbourne Position Accurately to Insurers
The south Worcestershire rivers alert covers 7.64 per cent of the town, with 2.46 per cent in Flood Zone 3. We would set that out when placing cover, without attaching the downstream Sedgeberrow and Hinton on the Green warning areas.
InsuranceManaging a Block in Winchcombe at a Glance
- Local authority
- Tewkesbury Borough Council
- Authority type
- District, under the county council
- Building control
- Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Building Control, shared with Cheltenham Borough Council
- County
- Gloucestershire
- Fire and rescue service
- Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service
- Water and sewerage
- Severn Trent Water
- From our Plymouth office
- About 144 miles in a straight line
- Setting
- Inland
What It Costs to Move a Block in Winchcombe 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.
Repainting an Elevation Can Need an Application Here
An Article 4 direction dating from 8 October 1987 covers about 16 per cent of the built-up area. It removes four classes of permitted development right: the enlargement, improvement or other alteration of a dwellinghouse; any other alteration to a roof; the erection of a porch outside an external door; and the painting of the exterior of any building or work. The painting control matters most for a block, because repainting an elevation is cyclical work that would otherwise never involve an application. The council's published document is a map with no street schedule, so whether a block is covered has to be confirmed with the council before a redecoration cycle.
Mostly Purpose-Built Flats, with Some over Shops
The published Winchcombe ward figure is 235 flats among 3,062 households, 7.7 per cent. Only 2,034 of the ward's households, 66.4 per cent, are inside the built-up area, as the ward takes in a substantial rural hinterland. The town itself has 2,034 households and 211 flats, 10.4 per cent. That is 155 in purpose-built blocks, 22 in a converted or shared house, 16 in another converted building and 18 over commercial premises. Most flats are in purpose-built blocks. For the conversions and flats over shops, the leases need reading for how shared structure and insurance are split.
Isbourne Warning Areas Downstream Do Not Reach Winchcombe
Fluvial on the River Isbourne. The only Environment Agency designation containing the town is the alert for the rivers of south Worcestershire. It lists the Isbourne alongside the Badsey, Honeybourne, Bretforton and Littleton Brooks, and covers 7.64 per cent of the built-up area. No flood warning area reaches Winchcombe. Two Environment Agency warning areas are named for the River Isbourne, but both are downstream at Sedgeberrow and Hinton on the Green and neither touches this town. The flood map puts 5.94 per cent of the town in Flood Zone 2 and 2.46 per cent in Flood Zone 3, fluvial only, and no defence scheme is published. For a block near the river, insurers should be given that position accurately, without the downstream warning areas.
A Quarter of the Town Is Conservation Area
One conservation area, designated 19 March 1971, with a published conservation area appraisal for which the council gives no adoption date. The designation covers 24.96 per cent of the built-up area, so a quarter of Winchcombe sits inside it. For a block in the area, external works need checking against conservation controls, and against the direction on exterior painting, before they are specified.
177 entries on the National Heritage List fall inside the built-up area: one Grade I, three Grade II* and 173 Grade II. Works to a listed block can need listed building consent, which should be in place before a specification is issued.
Three Radon Classes Across One Small Town
Three different radon classes apply across one small town. Of the seven one-kilometre squares over the built-up area, four are class 2, covering about 86 per cent of the area, at 1 to 3 per cent of homes at or above the action level. Two are class 4 at 5 to 10 per cent. One is in the lowest band, where the published advice is that radon measurement is not advised. A block's own square therefore decides whether measurement in its communal areas is advised.
That is national advice about the ground, not about the building. The same map excludes basements, cellars and underground spaces at every band, so an enclosed plant room, undercroft or lower-ground flat is still worth a look even here, and whatever is found belongs with the compliance record.
Tewkesbury Borough, Not Cotswold District, Decides Applications
Two adopted plans apply. The Joint Core Strategy for Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury was adopted in December 2017 and is under review. The Tewkesbury Borough Plan 2011 to 2031 was adopted on 8 June 2022 at a special meeting of the council. A successor strategic and local plan is emerging but not adopted. The Winchcombe and Sudeley Neighbourhood Development Plan was made on 24 January 2017 after a referendum carried by 87.02 per cent of those voting on a turnout of 22.49 per cent. About 71 per cent of the built-up area lies inside the Cotswolds National Landscape. Winchcombe is in Tewkesbury Borough, not Cotswold District, despite sitting in the Cotswolds, so planning applications for a block go to Tewkesbury Borough Council.
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Winchcombe Questions
Is Winchcombe in Cotswold District?
No. Winchcombe is in Tewkesbury Borough, despite sitting in the Cotswolds, and about 71 per cent of the built-up area lies inside the Cotswolds National Landscape. Building control is delivered by Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Building Control. Two adopted plans apply: the Joint Core Strategy of December 2017 and the Tewkesbury Borough Plan adopted on 8 June 2022.
Does the River Isbourne Flood Warning Cover Winchcombe?
No flood warning area reaches Winchcombe. Two Environment Agency warning areas are named for the River Isbourne, but both are downstream at Sedgeberrow and Hinton on the Green. The town sits only within the alert for the rivers of south Worcestershire, which covers 7.64 per cent of the built-up area, and the flood map puts 2.46 per cent in Flood Zone 3.
How Many Listed Buildings Are There in Winchcombe?
177 entries on the National Heritage List fall inside the built-up area: one Grade I, three Grade II* and 173 Grade II. The single conservation area, designated 19 March 1971, covers 24.96 per cent of the built-up area.
Nearby Areas
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