Planning Issues

Do I need to apply for planning permission?

The truthful answer is, we can't tell you, but we may be able to give a few helpful pointers.

If there is any doubt about the need to apply for planning permission, you should consult the planning department of your local Council. If they decide that something you have built should have had planning permission, you may have to apply retrospectively - or at worst demolish it.

Restrictions or specific rules (covenants) in the title of your property may also be something else to look out for. You may have to seek someone else's agreement before carrying out any work on your property.

Often confused, planning permission and building controls are two separate sets of rules.

Planning Permission.

The planning rules are related to the property on to which our buildings are to be erected, rather than the buildings themselves - this is why we can't say if you need planning permission or not.

Rules governing outbuildings apply to sheds, greenhouses and garages as well as other ancillary garden buildings such as swimming pools, ponds, sauna cabins, kennels, enclosures (including tennis courts) and many other kinds of structure for a purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse.

Under new regulations that came into effect on 1 October 2008 outbuildings are considered to be permitted development, not needing planning permission, subject to the following limits and conditions:

  • No outbuilding on land forward of a wall forming the principal elevation.
  • Outbuildings and garages to be single storey with maximum eaves height of 2.5 metres and maximum overall height of four metres with a dual pitched roof or three metres for any other roof.
  • Maximum height 2.5 metres within two metres of a boundary.
  • No verandas, balconies or raised platforms.
  • No more than half the area of land around the "original house"* would be covered by additions or other buildings.
  • In National Parks, the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and World Heritage Sites the maximum area to be covered by buildings, enclosures, containers and pools more than 20 metres from house to be limited to 10 square metres.
  • On designated land* buildings, enclosures, containers and pools at the side of properties will require planning permission.
  • Within the curtilage of listed buildings any outbuilding will require planning permission.

*The term "original house" means the house as it was first built or as it stood on 1 July 1948 (if it was built before that date). Although you may not have built an extension to the house, a previous owner may have done so.

*Designated land includes national parks and the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, conservation areas and World Heritage Sites.

Building Regulations

If you want to put up small detached buildings such as a garden shed or summerhouse in your garden, building regulations will not normally apply if the floor area of the building is less than 15 square metres.

If the floor area of the building is between 15 square metres and 30 square metres, you will not normally be required to apply for building regulations approval providing that the building is either at least one metre from any boundary or it is constructed of substantially non-combustible materials.

In both cases, building regulations do not apply ONLY if the building does not contain any sleeping accommodation.

Conclusion.

We provide this information 'in good faith', and is by no means an exhaustive study of the rules, our aim is just to help steer you in the right direction. Questions regarding specific situations or applications should be addressed to your local authority.

For a more in depth study of the building rules and planning issues, the Communities and Local Government web site www.comunities.gov.uk covers it all in infinite detail. There is lots more information available at www.direct.gov.uk also.

Your local council web site is also a good source of information; many booklets and forms are available for download. The booklets are also usually available at your local Council office.

There is also some useful information at the planning portal web site www.planningportal.gov.uk

semi-permanent make-up