Many areas of Ely could be included in a larger conservation area

East Cambridgeshire District Council plans to protect more of Ely's architectural heritage by increasing the size of the conservation area.

The expanded zone would cover a third of the city of Ely, doubling the size of the current area.

However, the move could increase renovation costs as designs would have to meet more strict criteria.

Conservation officer Rosie Burton said the council might agree to offer grants to help meet the extra costs.

One alteration to homes and other buildings likely to affect people most was replacement windows.

Ms Burton said: "It won't necessarily stop people using plastic windows, but it will make them use a design that's suitable to the building, rather than something that's off the shelf.

"That could be more expensive and we would look, at a committee meeting in the future, at providing grants to help people meet the extra cost."

Ely's conservation area was created in 1974 to protect some of the most historic and architecturally-important buildings.