PLANNING PERMISSION

Planning Permission and Building Regulations are two different issues in the planning and building of a conservatory and should not be confused even though your Local Authority manage both:

Planning Permission – is the permission to erect or extend a conservatory

Building Regulations – define how a conservatory must be built

Properties that have not already been extended have Permitted Development Rights, although these are not applicable if it is a Listed Building, in a Conservation Area or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

You will find a comprehensive guide to making a Planning Application at the government Planning Portal. Along with an application for Planning Permission you will need to supply a Certificate of Ownership, an Ordnance Survey based Location Plan and a Design and Access Statement.

It can be very difficult to obtain Planning Permission for conservatories added to Barn Conversions and Flats.

Permitted Development Rights

Unless you live in a Listed Building, Conservation Area or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, you will not usually need to apply for planning permission if you do not exceed the permitted development rights for your property which is 50-70 cubic metres, depending on where you live:

• Detached Properties – are normally allowed to developed up to 70 cubic metres, or 115‰ of the total volume of the property whichever is greater, e.g. a conservatory with external dimensions 4 metres wide, 4 metres deep and 4 metres high would normally be within your permitted development rights.

• Semi-Detached Properties – the same rule applies as it does to detached properties; you are allowed to develop up to 70 cubic metres, or 115‰ of the total volume of the property whichever is greater.

• Terraced & End of Terrace Homes – a similar rule applies as it does to detached and semi-detached, but you are restricted to developing up to 50 cubic metres, or up to 110‰ of the total volume of the property whichever is greater, e.g. a conservatory with external dimensions 4 metres wide, 3 metres deep and 3.5 metres high would normally be within your permitted development rights.

Important – if your property has been extended in the past you will have used some of your permitted development rights, or perhaps all of them, and may need planning permission to extend further.

• Newer Properties –- if you live in a newer property your permitted development rights may have been removed by your Local Authority issuing an Article 4 Direction. In these circumstances you need to apply for planning permission to carry out the work that would otherwise have been permitted without consent.

You should contact your Local Council for more information about this and whether this applies to your home.

Listed Building Consent

Listed Building Consent will be required before any construction can start on a conservatory being added to a Listed Property and it is a criminal offence to carry out work before Consent has been given. You apply for Consent as follows:

1 – contact your Local Authority before making an application and discuss your proposed application with a Planning Officer and try to get some indication as to whether or not your proposal is likely to be accepted. This is less expensive than making a full application and you may get some advice as to how to make a full application that may be viewed favourably.

2 – ask your architect or conservatory designer or installer, for their ideas about how to make your application more acceptable. They will have been through the process many times before and will know how to answer objections and will have had past success in negotiating and overcoming objections.

Remember that designs in keeping with the character of your home using similar materials often have the best chance of being approved. Timber and glass conservatories are much more acceptable than the uVPC framed and polycarbonate roof alternatives.

3 – ask your Local Authority for the forms you need for making an application; this will need to clearly show your intentions and be accompanied with detailed plans and photographs. In most cases the Local Authority will deal with the application, but more important cases may be referred to English Heritage and sometimes to the Secretary of State.

Important – plan ahead if you have a date by when you would like your conservatory installed, it can take up to eight weeks or more after sending in your application for a decision to be sent to you. If consent is denied you have six months during which you can appeal to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

Conservation Areas

Conservation Areas are designated by Local Authorities to help preserve and enhance the character and appearance of an area of special architectural or historic interest.

Once given this status, it does not mean that everything should be preserved exactly; it's the character of the area that is most important. So if you are restoring an old conservatory it should be done in the style of what was there previously using acceptable materials; and if you are building a new conservatory it should be built in a way that does not harm the area's special character.

Your planning application will need to be made in detail, rather than in outline so that the full impact can be taken into account.

Areas Of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Permitted development rights in an AONB are reduced from the standard development rights. The limit is 50 cubic metres or 115% of the total volume of the property whichever is greater, when measured to the outside of the planned conservatory. If the property has been extended before, their size will need to be deducted from these allowances.

If the conservatory is going to be over 50 cubic metres, or over 115%, you will need to apply for Planning Permission.

Planning Applications

You will find a comprehensive guide to making a planning application at the government Planning Portal where you can use links to make your application and pay your fees. In summary, the process is as follows: Contact the planning department of your local planning authority for advice and request an application form and decide on application type; outline application or full application

• Submit application with correct fee and supporting documents
• Local planning authority validates application and requests any missing documentation
• Local planning authority acknowledges valid application
• Local planning authority publicises and consults on application
• Application considered by Planning Officer or Planning Committee and:

a) Permission granted – start work within time limit
b) Permission granted with conditions – start work within time limit and comply with conditions
c) Application not decided after 8 weeks – appeal to Secretary of State or change proposal and submit new application
d) Permission refused – appeal to Secretary of State or change proposal and submit new application

Certificate Of Ownership

Along with your application for planning permission you will need to send a Certificate of Ownership. There are two types; one, when you are the owner; two, when you are not the owner. Most Local Authorities will allow you to download a Certificate of Ownership from their website.

Ordnance Survey Maps

You will need to supply an accompanying Ordnance Survey based location plan at a scale of 1:1250, this must show your property with the proposed conservatory marked on it to scale and all adjoining buildings and roads, including those at the back and those facing your property.

You can buy a plan of your existing property and the surrounding area from an internet site recommended by Ordnance Survey.

Design & Access Statements

These are now a requirement for most planning applications and all applications for Listed Building Consent. In it you, or your designer, need to explain the design thinking behind the application, to demonstrate that the application has been thought through and how the conservatory is appropriate to its surroundings. There is no special format to it and there is no official form you need to fill in, but it should be relevant to the application and can contain plans or photographs where appropriate.

Barn Conversions

Adding a conservatory as a Barn extension usually goes against planning regulations and is likely to be objected to. Most Local Authorities planning policies state that "a barn will be granted planning permission only if it is capable of conversion without significant rebuilding or extension."

If some years after the original conversion has been made you wish to add a conservatory the same proviso applies. However, while permission to extend is remote, you should check with your local council to find out what they may accept.

Sometimes, if the original conversion was done sympathetically and your planned conservatory is built using local materials you may have a chance of being accepted. What’s more, the size of the conservatory may also be taken into consideration, so local knowledge and the advice of architects and builders may help you in your application.

Flats & Apartments

Flats and apartments have no automatic right to have a conservatory added and planning permission advice should be obtained from an architect, designer or builder with knowledge about these matters before any work is considered.

Previous Next

For further conservatory advice call us now on 02032 393 393 or Contact Us today.