What building changes require planning permission?
When you embark upon a house project, it’s important to have a degree of certainty over whether you will need to apply for planning permission, or if what you plan to do falls outside the scope of what would qualify as a project.
As a rule of thumb, if your project will involve building something new, or changing the size or use of your property, planning permission will be needed. In most cases, planning permission is only required when a maximum height or area has been exceeded.
That’s why it isn’t always cut-and-dry as to what work is allowed without seeking planning permission and what work does; whilst minor changes to your porch or loft do not automatically require planning permission, they may do if your property lies within a sensitive area or the alterations require further work to comply with building regulations.
If you’re at a point where you feel you do need to apply for planning permission, be sure to read our guide on 10 things you need to know before applying for planning permission.
The Planning Portal have created a handy interactive infographic which helps visualise which areas of your property you may typically need to apply for planning permission to work on but there are certain types of work that usually don’t require permission, as outlined below.
Will I need planning permission to build a conservatory?
In most cases, planning permission will not be needed to build a conservatory on your property. However there are many qualifiers to this and can vary depending on the type and size of the property and the proposed location of the conservatory.
If you are strapped for space on your property but would like to allow more natural light into your home, there may be better alternatives to a conservatory, which is why we would recommend speaking to an architect to go over what your best options may be.
Loft Conversion
Loft conversions, as with most internal work to your property, may not need planning permission ahead of making the change. That said there are a few instances whereby you may still need to apply for planning permission, such as if you own a listed building and want to make adjustments, or go beyond what is deemed to be safe for your property.
Loft conversions themselves can create a wealth of usable space in your home, and afford plenty of room for creativity in the design. If you are planning on having a loft conversion done, we suggest seeing it in VR ahead of making a firm decision to give you a better idea of headheight and clearance.
Find out more about planning a loft conversion for your home.
Roof windows/Skylights
When converting a loft into an extra bedroom or study, sky lights can be used as a natural way to bring light into the space. When considering adding a roof window, be aware that these in themselves can be an area that need planning permission if it goes beyond certain guidelines such as if the chosen window protrudes beyond the highest point of the roof.
Porch
As standard, a new front porch will not require planning permission unless the changes would mean the external footprint is larger than 3m2, the overall height doesn't exceed 3 metres, or that it would be positioned within 2 metres of a residential property by a public road or path.
When thinking about making changes to your porch, it can be a great opportunity to think about insulation for your property, as a lot of heat can be lost through the front door. There is a lot that can be done here as well to make good use of light to make an inviting entrance to your home, which means there is potential to have a transformative effect on your home without needing planning permission.
Garage building & conversions
Building or renovating an existing garage on your property may not require planning permission. Some exceptions to this are: if your property is a listed building, in a sensitive area or if you are planning to convert the garage into a building that will be lived in.
If you are building a garage that will be attached to your existing property or of a certain size, it will be subject to building regulations to ensure that the construction is safe and won’t pose any risk.
As with any extension, how you build it and which materials you choose will make a big difference to the overall look and efficiency of your garage, so how it will be used will help steer this. As ever, feel free to get in touch with our experienced architects if you have any questions on how best to approach this.
External walls
Provided you don’t live in a listed building or protected area (such as a national park), repairs, maintenance and decoration to your external walls should not require planning permission for you to carry out.
The same applies to cladding, which ordinarily does not require planning permission provided the material used mostly matches the existing look of your building. For more extensive work, building regulations will still apply and may need to be considered if the work carried out will involve replacing timber or re-rendering.
We would also advise thinking about cavity insulation if your property does not already have it, as this can make a big difference to the building’s efficiency, especially during colder months.
If in doubt
Unless it's a cut and dry case, we suggest putting in an application for planning permission ahead of making any headway on a property to avoid losing time and money.
There are also some instances where whether you need planning permission or not is a grey area. In these cases, you can either put in an application or go ahead with the work, and run the risk of the local council ordering its reversal or in extreme circumstances, demolition in the future.
For the relatively minimal cost to apply when compared to the typical cost of any home extension or building work, we suggest not risking it if there is any room for doubt, and as the saying goes: it’s better to be safe than sorry.
If you’re still unsure, the Marraum team is more than happy to work with you to help you understand everything you need to do when developing your property. For more support and guidance, get in touch.
COMMENTS