Planning Permission
Do I need Planning Permission for an Conservatory?
We will take care of this for you if needs be, the important thing to remember is that you shouldn’t worry.We are experts in the field and we deal with these rules day in day out, not only that but we will advise you on what your options are and manage the planning applications for you if necessary.
Often permission is not needed but if you are interested in knowing some of the details we’ll address on your behalf, here is a summary of the rules.
In most cases you will not require planning permission for your Conservatory under the present legislation, unless you are adding an Conservatory to a house that has already been extended.
You may also need to check if your house is a ‘new build’ as developers sometimes place restrictions on them.
The good news is that you will be able to build quite a number of Conservatory designs without planning permission that would have needed it just a few years ago. The following rules must be followed to remain exempt this planning legislation:
The Conservatory should be built at ground level and are less than 30 square metres in floor area.
At least half of the new wall and three quarters of the roof of your Conservatory is either glazed or translucent material.
The Conservatory is separated from the house by external quality door(s).
Glazing and any fixed electrical installations comply with the applicable building regulations requirement
From 1st October 2008 new rules for Conservatories and extensions took affect which replaced the old rules and affect Conservatories as follows:
No extension forward of the principal elevation (elevation means wall) or side elevation fronting a highway. This means that any Conservatory on the front or side of a house that will be closer to a public highway than the original house will need planning permission. A highway is any public right of way including footpaths.
Maximum depth of a single-storey rear extension of three metres for an attached house and four metres for a detached house. The width of an Conservatory running along the back length of a house is not constrained at all unless it projects beyond the house. A house is only detached if there is no solid structure connecting it to a neighbour. A "link" house is therefore not detached nor would be two houses with a common garage.
The rules on what counts as being detached have not changed from the previous ones.
Side extensions to be single storey with maximum height of four metres and width no more than half that of the original house.
Maximum eaves height of an extension within two metres of the boundary of three metres from the lowest point on the ground.
No verandas, balconies or raised platforms.
On designated land no permitted development for rear extensions of more than one storey; no cladding of the exterior; no side extensions.
No more than half the area of land around the "original house" would be covered by additions or other buildings.
Maximum height of a single-storey rear extension of four metres. While permitted development rights now allow for the construction of many bespoke Conservatories without planning permission, the items above may still limit their size and material construction if you want to avoid building regulations.
If an Conservatory you are building does not meet any of the above four rules then it will have to adhere to building regulations in full.
