Beat the Housing Market - Build an Extension
December 14, 2008
The dark, cold days of winter are here. You'd like to move house but the market is at a standstill, and you can't get a mortgage for love or money. Perhaps the best course is to improve what you've got - convert the loft, build and extension, go in for some green energy generation or put up that summerhouse in the garden.
But aren't we talking hassle here? Wouldn't we need planning permission, and neighbours will probably object. The answer to which is POSSIBLY NOT. You can do a lot without planning permission. The limits are set out in the Government's snappily titled General Permitted Development Order. This has just been revised to "make it a whole lot easier to improve your home" (Caroline Flint - Housing and Planning Minister). But minister's claims are rarely matched by reality and Council planners are finding the new rules more difficult to interpret than the old ones. Previous limits for house extensions were 50m³ or 10% for terraces (70m³ or 15% for other houses), up to a maximum of 115m³. Now, if you want a rear or side extension the limit, in most cases is 50% of the open land around the "original" house, i.e. garden.
This seems clear but, as usual, the devil is in the detail. There are what Ms. Flint calls "carefully calculated size limits" to ensure what you do "strikes the right balance between the interests of homeowners and their neighbours". So don't get too excited at the prospect of doubling the size of your house, there are many limitations. An extension may not:
- Be higher than the existing house or extend more than 4 metres beyond the rear wall of a detached house (3 metres for others).
- Exceed 4 metres in height if single storey (7 metres if more than 1 storey) or extend more than 3 metres beyond the rear wall if more than one storey high.
- Come within 2 metres of the boundary of the "curtilage" of the house (usually taken to be the garden) where the height of the eaves exceeds 3 metres;
- Extend beyond the side wall of the house if it is more than 4 metres high, more than one storey or is more than half as wide as the original dwelling house;
- Involve or include a veranda, balcony or raised platform; etc.
So it is dead easy to work out whether you need planning permission isn't it? Or perhaps not!
Lots of other changes and additions are also permitted. You can add a porch, microwave antenna, solar panels, ground source heat pumps; convert the loft; or build a greenhouse, detached garage, summerhouse, swimming pool, or tennis court in the garden, or anything else "incidental to the enjoyment of a dwellinghouse" without planning permission. But these are also subject to limitations.
The householder is on the horns of a dilemma. You want to do something to your house or in the garden, but don't want the expense and delay involved in getting planning permission. You need to be sure your proposal is "permitted" before you proceed. Get it wrong and the Council could take enforcement action for breach of planning control. You risk having to apply for retrospective permission. At worst you may have to take down what you put up. How can you find out if permission is needed? Your local council may offer advice but will often charge for this service. Or there is an interactive guide on the "planningportal" website under "houseguide", but it isn't easy. Best of luck!
-- George Crutcher MRTPI - Planning Consultant tel. no. 07797 070992
To find a company who may assist you further, simply click on the free links located on the right hand side of the page.
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