A Guide to the New Permitted Development Rules

ABOVE: PD could allow you to extend the back of your home over two storeys, and at the sides over a single storey, plus add a porch to the front. Read more about the bungalow extension pictured.

Whether you’re simply looking to improve your existing house or carry out major works to one you’re intending to buy, it pays to understand the scope of the available Permitted Development (PD) rights.

They are granted in the form of General Development Planning Orders (GDPOs) which apply separately to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and, in effect, they give implied planning consent to carry out certain classes of development.

In order to carry out work under PD the work must strictly conform to the current criteria, so it does make sense to either check with your local authority before carrying out the works or have a qualified surveyor confirm that they are in order.

An increasing number of local authorities offer a consultancy service for a small fee, and will confirm in writing whether or not a planning application is required. This can be very useful when it comes to reselling the property within the first four years of completion.

The recent amendments to PD rights for England, introduced on 1st October 2008, were designed to cut down on red tape and encourage homeowners to develop their homes. However, the industry believes they are having the opposite effect. Derek Livesy from loft conversion specialist Econoloft says, “A lack of clarity in the rules means we and our clients have to enter into protracted dialogue with local councils for guidance.

“It seems that every council is interpreting the new planning guidance in a different way – and so we never know what is permitted and what is not – as each planning office has a different take on the rules. Councils in the south seem to be particularly belligerent.”

Brian Berry from the Federation of Master Builders says, “It is very frustrating for householders that local authorities are choosing to misinterpret the original aim of the Government’s planning legislation, which was meant to make it easier, not harder, for householders to improve their homes.”

Given the lack of clarity, then, we decided to investigate the new rules and clarify, once and for all, what you can and can’t do.

Improvements: What you can do

• Build a porch.

• Carry out internal alterations.

• Convert and occupy the loft space.

• Install microgeneration equipment (apart from wind turbines).

• Install satellite dishes.

• Erect antenna.

• Put in rooflights or dormer windows.

• Put in new doors or windows.

• Extend the back of your home.

* All subject to design constraints; e.g. porch has to be less than 3m³, rooflights and dormers must not face the highway, etc.

ABOVE, Clockwise from top left: Convert your loft - Using PD rights you can convert your loft into living accommodation, extend the roof to the back or sides by up to 40m³, and add dormer windows or rooflights; Give your home a makeover - PD could allow you to change the external cladding of your walls and roof covering, and the doors and windows — transforming your home’s appearance; Create outbuildings - PD could allow you to erect outbuildings (sheds or home offices, such as Potton’s Zone, pictured) covering up to 50% of your original garden area, up to 4m in height (3m with a flat roof).

Extensions: What you can do

• You can extend a dwelling by 4m to the rear if it’s single storey or 3m if it’s double.

• There are height restrictions but they boil down to a single storey extension not being higher than 4m in height to the ridge and the eaves, and ridge heights of any extension not being higher than the existing property.

• Two storey extensions must not be closer than 7m to the rear boundary.

• It must be built in the same or similar material to the existing dwelling.

• Extensions must not go forward of the building line of the original dwelling.

• Side extensions must be single storey, maximum height of 4m and a width no more than half of the original building.

• In Designated Areas side extensions require planning permission and all rear extensions must be single storey.

• An extension must not result in more than half the garden being covered.

• You can only do it once and the original building is either as it was on 1st July 1948 or when it was built. In Northern Ireland it is as it was built or as it was on 1st October 1973.

• In Wales and Northern Ireland an extension must not be bigger than 15% of the volume of the existing house or 70m³, whichever is the greater up to a maximum of 115m3. In Designated Areas this volume is reduced to 10% or 50m³, whichever is the greater.

• In Scotland the limit is 24m² or 20% of the floor area up to a maximum of 30m². In Designated Areas this comes down to 16m² or 10%.

ABOVE, LEFT: Convert your basement - PD rights allow you to convert existing unused cellar space into habitable accommodation, but if you want to create a lightwell you’ll probably need to apply for planning permission. Basement extensions will also probably require planning — but the situation is evolving; RIGHT: Install renewables - PD rights allow you to install most microgeneration products such as solar panels, PV cells and heat pumps. However, you will need to apply to install a wind turbine.

Outbuildings: What you can do

• You can construct all sorts of outbuildings for the use and enjoyment of the home so long as they do not cover more than 50% of the garden space. In Scotland this is reduced to 30%.

• In Wales and Northern Ireland any outbuildings closer to the house than 5m count as extensions. In Scotland any outbuildings larger than 4m2 and closer to the dwelling than 5m count as extensions.

• Outbuildings must be single storey with a maximum ridge height of 4m for a pitched roof or 3m for any other kind of roof. The eaves height must be no more than 2.5 metres.

• If the outbuilding is closer to the boundary than 2m it shall be no higher than 2.5m.

• No outbuilding can be forward of the original dwelling. In Wales and Northern Ireland the same applies unless the resulting building would be more than 20m from the road.

How it works

PD rights apply only to a ‘private dwelling house’ as originally constructed, or as the dwelling stood at a certain point in time, usually 1st April 1948 when the first Town and Country Planning Act came in, but sometimes a later date decided by each local authority. Flats are excluded, as are listed buildings, whilst properties in Designated Areas, such as Conservation Areas, green belt, National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and The Broads have restrictions on their PD rights.

PD rights can be applied as often as you like, but the total allowances for extensions can only be used up once and are then exhausted. PD rights can also be withdrawn or modified by a condition within a planning consent, known as an Article 3 Restriction. They can also be withdrawn by means of what is known as an Article 4 Direction issued by the local authority. This can relate to a single dwelling, a street or a whole area and is often, although not necessarily, used in Conservation Areas. An Article 4 Direction currently has to be ratified by the Secretary of State.

If, therefore, you are buying an existing dwelling, it is incumbent upon you to investigate what if any PD rights have been used up or whether or not they have been modified or withdrawn. Even where a house can no longer be extended, it may be possible to erect outbuildings within the residential curtilage. Whilst it is not possible to construct sleeping accommodation as an outbuilding under PD without express planning permission, it is possible to utilise an existing outbuilding for sleeping accommodation so long as any such accommodation is for the use and enjoyment of the home as a single dwelling.

Interestingly, if an outbuilding was constructed for another purpose, such as a gym with perhaps a shower and kitchenette, once it had been established for that use it would become an existing outbuilding and, as such, could be converted to sleeping accommodation under PD.

Although express planning permission is not required for development covered by PD rights, Building Regulations approval may well be necessary in many cases. This is, however, largely objective, so contact your local authority for advice.

Further reading:

• Using Permitted Development Effectively
• Planning Permission: Do I Have a Chance?
• Loft Conversions: A step-by-step-guide
• Permitted Development
• 20 Things you Can Do - No Planning Required
• Why Have we Lost Our Planning Rights?