planing consent for conservatories

[caravaner1]

we live on a corner plot and want to build a conservatory do we have to have planning permision we have been told by the planning office twice first no then yes

[Ethel]

Usually no.

But how big? Any existing extensions? Are you in a conservation area? Is your building listed?

I suggest you write to the planning office. You will get a written answer which you can rely on.

If the written answer is the 'wrong one', - yes - , you can ask them to explain their reasoning and possibly appeal.

[n00dles]

Yep, its quite a minefield out there as to if and when.

Don't want to bore you with every detail, but it all depends on size/location/previous extns built etc etc.

In some cases you have to have building permission in addition to planning consent...

I do have the full details actually. Collected from Telegraph Q+A planning/building/etc etc..

If you like I can type it all up for you??

[caravaner1]

thank you for the reply noodle but I dont want to put you to all that trouble , first the planning say we have to stay in line with the house down the road to the side of ours , but the houses there have been allowed to stagger over the years there is only 4 houses in line with ours and 2 built recently with garages in the front and they stick out too, beyond our property I think I will take some photoes and take them down to planning trouble is you have to pay �135 for permission you may not need

[n00dles]

caravaner,

Found it!

Generally speaking, if the proposed conservatory is at ground level and under 30 sq metres in floor area, you will not need building regulations approval. But you should still contact the council's building control dept to make sure that the glasswork complies with safety-glazing requirements. As for planning permission, it depends on the measurements. Owners of non-terraced houses outside conservation areas do not need planning permission if they want to extend their home by less than 15 per cent of its original size or by 70 cubic metres, whichever is the greater. But for those living in conservation areas and owners of terraced houses anywhere, these figures are cut to 10 per cent and 50 cubic metres. Furthermore, no part of any extension may be more than four metres high, within two metres of neighbours' land or come nearer the road than the existing front of the house.

Hope this is helpful to you. n00dles xXx

[buildersmate]

A couple of points to Noodle's advice. He is quoting 'Permitted Development Rights'. These are modifications that you can make to your house without PP. If your house has already been extended since originally built (or since 1948, if older than that), some PDRs will have already been used up. Also if you live in a Conservation Area or an AONB, your PDRs may have been removed. It does not mean you can't build a conservatory - it just means you require PP.

The (most likely) reason why your council is saying your conservatory must be in line behind your house is because you live on a corner; one is not permitted to build nearer to the public highway than the existing house using your PDR (but you could if granted PP). In your case the public highway extends around 2 sides of your plot.

Lastly, just to clear up the difference between PP and Building Regs - PP is used to control the appearance of the environment (what buildings you can put up), whilst Building Regs is used to ensure that any buildings are put up to satisfy minimum standards. They are not linked, and you may need PP but not BR, BR but not PP, neither or both! Because conservatories are regarded as non-habitable structures, they do not require BR approval unless they are bigger than 30 square metres in external floor area. Irrespective of this statutory requirement, it makes sense to built any conservatory with decent foundations, insulation in the floor and safety glass in the windows. HTH

[caravaner1]

thank you noodle that does answer all my question we live in a semi and do have enough room right around the proposed site even enough to have 2 parking space side by side because we live on a very narrow lane it is not wise to leave a car outside off the drive, we are going to take down the garage because it is one of those old ones so we were told we could build out to where the garage is now but the size of the conservatory is not as big

[n00dles]

Hi caravaner1

No probs!

I had all the info that buildersmate added to my post, but tried (without misleading you) to keep it short. bm did clarify points I had already made though, but that isn't my reason for this thread, Lol bm :o).

I'm not a he (not last time I looked, anyway!!)

Maybe, bm you saw bobby d'n in Once upon a Time in America, too?? Also it is one of my favourite foods!

Cheers to you all luv n00dles xXx

[buildersmate]

Oops, sorry about the gender assumption - I tend to think of noodles as being male. Yours, Buildersmate (Mrs.)

[caravaner1]

thanks for all the advice Iam going to take measurements and photo of the site and make an appointment to see a planning officer and see if they can clarfiy this matter for me the conservatory peolpe have given me a pic of what it should look like and a detailed plan hope this sorts it out wish me luck