Living in a conservation area is a bit of a mixed blessing depending on your point of view - and pocket. There are stricter rules in respect of what you can do to your property however given that planning rules have become more relaxed of late in respect of the scope of permitted development, as you generally have to go to planning/conservation area consent for most changes in a conservation area, it would also restrict someone doing something stupid to their property in design and aesthetic terms hence can preserve the character of the area and boost property values. In this market its probably good to get as much help in that department as you can. That being said, sometimes not all planning departments are necessarily an arbiter of good design......