Replacement windows
In the conservation area the front of a house almost always calls for timber sliding sashes, made to the existing pattern. On the estates at Nevill, Landport and South Malling, uPVC is a normal choice.
Double glazing, sash windows and secondary glazing in Lewes
Lewes has some of the tightest window rules in Sussex. We fit what they allow, and tell you before you spend anything what they don’t.
- Timber sash windows made to match
- Secondary glazing where the originals must stay
- Advice on the Article 4 direction before you order
East Grinstead showroom · covering Sussex, Surrey and Kent
10/10 on Checkatrade
From 149 verified customer reviews
Certass registered
Fully insured and SafeContractor approved
10 year guarantee
On every product we supply and install
Family run since 2007
Our own fitters — never subcontracted out
Holtye Windows in Lewes
A town where the windows are protected
Lewes is the largest town inside any National Park in the country, with more than 500 listed buildings and a conservation area covering most of the centre. The South Downs National Park Authority, not the district council, now decides planning applications here.
In much of Lewes a plain uPVC casement is simply not an option on the front of the house. What is possible, in timber, in sliding sashes and in secondary glazing, is often better than people expect, and we would sooner explain that at the start than after an order is placed.
What we fit
Windows, doors and conservatories for Lewes homes
Supplied, fitted and guaranteed for 10 years by our own team. Nothing is subcontracted.
New doors
A front door facing the street is covered by the same direction as the windows, so a change of design or material needs permission. Timber, in the pattern the terrace was built with, is the safe answer.
Conservatories and extensions
The whole town is in the National Park, so extensions and conservatories have the tighter set of permitted development limits. Nothing can be added at the side without permission, and nor can cladding.
Home improvements
Plastering, flooring and full interior refurbishment are carried out by the same group, for houses that need more than new windows.
Homes in Lewes
Georgian fronts, flint twittens and brick terraces
Lewes hides its age. Many of its Georgian fronts are medieval timber frames with a new face.
The High Street and Cliffe are lined with eighteenth-century fronts in stucco, flint, brick and mathematical tiles, the thin clay tiles made to pass for brickwork that Lewes shares with Brighton. Nearly all have timber sliding sashes, most often with six panes to each sash.
Much of the conservation area, though, is nineteenth-century terraces in grey and red brick, built for the town’s workers in Southover, the Pells and the streets off Western Road. They too were built with timber sashes, and the Park Authority’s 2023 appraisal says further uPVC should be resisted and the return of timber encouraged.
Beyond are the late Victorian villas of the Wallands and the twentieth-century estates at Nevill, Landport and South Malling, where the choice of window is much freer.
Our work
The kind of work Lewes asks us for
All our own installations, photographed on site across Sussex, Surrey and Kent. Select a photo to see it full size.
Local planning
Planning in Lewes: the National Park and the Article 4 direction
Since 1 April 2026 the South Downs National Park Authority has handled planning applications in Lewes itself. Before then Lewes District Council did so on its behalf, so older advice pointing you to the district council is out of date. The district council still decides applications in places outside the Park, such as Ringmer, Cooksbridge and Barcombe.
The Lewes conservation area has had an Article 4 direction since 1996. For houses within it, changes to windows and doors that face a road, the river or an open space need planning permission, even where the same change would be permitted development anywhere else. So do new porches and repainting the outside. The direction is under review.
In practice, expect to be asked for timber on a street front, to the same pattern as the original. Where the original windows survive and are sound, repairing them and adding secondary glazing avoids the question altogether: nothing outside changes, so an unlisted house needs no permission for it.
The Authority holds bookable conservation drop-in sessions at Lewes Town Hall, which are worth using before you commit to anything.
The national rules, briefly
- Replacing the windows and doors of a house does not normally need planning permission, as long as the new ones look similar to the old.
- Flats and maisonettes do not have that right, and a listed building needs listed building consent. Check with the council before changing either.
- Every replacement window and external door has to meet Building Regulations. We’re Certass registered, so we certify the work ourselves and you receive the certificate within eight weeks.
- A conservatory or single-storey rear extension is often permitted development too, within size limits that tighten in conservation areas and protected landscapes.
Projects
Recent projects near Lewes
The nearest jobs we have written up in full, with photos and the detail of what was done.
Replacement windows and stable doors
Twenty-two windows replaced on a period brick house, with two stable doors and a pair of French doors, finished with astragal Georgian bars.
View project9 miles from Lewes
Georgian sash windows, doors and rooftrim
Twenty-five white woodgrain sash windows with Georgian bars, three doors, an aluminium bifold and new rooftrim on a detached home.
View project
Whole-house renovation
Windows, doors, a Supalite warm roof extension, kitchen, cloakroom, flooring and decorating — all handled by one team from start to finish.
View project
Customer reviews
What our customers say
Rated 10/10 from 149 reviews on Checkatrade, where we’ve been a vetted member since 2014.
Where we work
Lewes and the places around it
We cover the whole of Lewes, and we don’t stop at the edge of town.
- Cliffe
- Southover
- The Pells
- The Wallands
- South Malling
- Landport
- Nevill
- Winterbourne
- Kingston
- Ringmer
- Offham
- Hamsey
- Cooksbridge
- Barcombe
- Glynde
- Rodmell
- Firle
Nearby areas: Brighton, Uckfield, Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, Hailsham. See everywhere we cover.
Questions
Lewes: your questions
Can’t see what you need? Call 01342 410079 and we’ll answer it properly.
Can I have uPVC windows in Lewes?
It depends where the house is and which way the window faces. In the conservation area, changing a window that faces a road, the river or an open space needs planning permission, and uPVC is unlikely to be approved there. On an elevation that is not on view, and on the estates outside the conservation area such as Nevill and Landport, the normal rules apply and uPVC is a common choice.
Who do I apply to for planning permission in Lewes?
The South Downs National Park Authority. It took planning in the town back from Lewes District Council on 1 April 2026. If you live just outside the Park, in Ringmer or Cooksbridge for example, the district council is still your planning authority.
What is secondary glazing, and does it need permission?
It is a slim second window fitted inside the room, behind the existing one. The wide gap between the two makes it very good at cutting noise as well as draughts. On an unlisted house it needs no planning permission, because the outside does not change. In a listed building it may need listed building consent, so ask first.
Do you work in the villages round Lewes?
Yes: Kingston, Ringmer, Offham, Hamsey, Cooksbridge, Barcombe, Glynde, Rodmell and Firle. Some are inside the National Park and some are not, which changes who decides a planning application. We will tell you which applies to you.
Free quotations
Ready for a quote in Lewes?
Book a free, no-obligation survey at your home in Lewes, or come and see us at the East Grinstead showroom.