Do I Need Planning Permission?

We’re asked all sorts of questions by customers and a lot of these questions relate to planning permission as they try to figure out whether they need it before the fitting of a conservatory or orangery commences at their home.

Our consultants will advise them that if their proposed extension has “permitted development rights”, an application for planning permission will not need to be submitted and they can immediately proceed.

What is a permitted development?

The rules for home extensions were relaxed a few years ago due to the housing crisis and to encourage Britain to get building.

This automatically granted a householder permission to extend up to eight metres for detached houses and six metres for all other houses.

These permitted development rights also usually apply to anyone wanting to convert a loft, cellar, garage etc. into new, useable space.

When is planning permission required?

More often than not, planning permission will need to be obtained if the proposed extension measures a greater height than the tallest part of your house or if it’s a single-storey rear extension spanning more than four metres in height.  

To get definitive clarity about the need for planning permission, or otherwise, you should contact the planning department at your local authority who will be able to give you an answer.

In order to do so, they will likely ask you to give them a full understanding of what you plan to do so that they can adjudicate whether or not they’re happy for you to proceed without planning permission.

When they determine that planning permission is needed and an application must be made, it will normally take eight weeks for them to pass judgement on your plans. This could extend to 13 weeks if the plans are particularly complex. It currently costs £206 to make an application for planning permission for a home extension in England.

You do have the right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate if you feel your local planning department has unfairly knocked back your plans.

Dare I risk proceeding without planning permission?

Absolutely not! It would be a huge risk and could potentially prove to be a very costly one as when you breach planning laws you could be ordered to make expensive adjustments to the extension to bring it in line with the rules. There’s even a chance of the local authority forcing you to have the extension completely torn down.

Can Permaframe help with planning permission?

Of course we can! We see it as our job to help customers get the home extension they want and should this involve acquiring planning permission on their behalf, we’re more than happy to do it. All you need to do for now is get a FREE quote.