Householder Extensions and Conversions – Page 10
Design and policy detail for extensions, lofts, garden rooms, garages, porches and driveways.
Householder Extensions and Conversions articles – page 10
251 articlesReplacement windows in an Article 4 area
Where an Article 4 direction withdraws Class A rights, new windows need planning permission. Here is what officers assess and how to evidence the original pattern.
Converting a garage to a habitable room
Internal works are not development and infilling the door usually falls within Class A. The exception that catches people is a condition on the original estate permission requiring the garage to be kept for parking.
Decking, raised platforms and the 300 millimetre rule
The 300 millimetre threshold comes from the definition of a raised platform in Part 1 of the GPDO. On a sloping garden a level deck usually crosses it, and the whole structure is caught rather than the high corner.
Annexes: ancillary accommodation or a separate dwelling
An annexe is either part of the same planning unit as the house or a separate dwelling, and the label on the drawing does not decide it. Facilities, access and garden division are what officers weigh.
Roof pitch and eaves height on a two storey side extension
Class A never permits a two storey side extension, so the roof becomes a design judgement. Align the eaves, drop the ridge, set back at first floor, and draw the relationship properly.
Matching brickwork on a 1930s semi: what officers expect
Materials conditions on householder permissions are settled by a sample panel, not by a brick name. Here is how to read the existing wall, choose a match or a considered contrast, and get the condition discharged without holding up the build.
Rear extension refused on amenity: how to redesign it
Loss of light refusals are about form, not principle. Here is how to read the reasons, redesign the depth and eaves height, and choose between a free resubmission and a householder appeal.
Extending an Article 4 direction house: rights you lost
An Article 4 direction does not stop you extending. It turns work that needed no application into one that does, usually with no fee and a design case attached.
Extending a house in the Green Belt: the disproportionate test
Green Belt policy allows extensions that are not disproportionate additions over and above the original building. Everything turns on what the original building was.
Annexe for a relative: planning conditions and council tax
An annexe stands or falls on whether it stays ancillary to the main house. The planning condition, the layout and the council tax band all turn on the same question.
Bats in your loft: what a conversion legally requires
Bat roosts are protected whether or not bats are present, and permitted development rights change nothing. Here is the sequence a loft conversion has to follow.
Extending near a protected tree without losing consent
A protected tree does not stop an extension, but it does decide where the walls go. Here is the order to work through before the drawings are finished.
Extending a house in Flood Zone 3: what to submit
An extension in Flood Zone 3 needs a flood risk assessment even when the works are modest. Here is what the council and the Environment Agency actually look for.
Converting a loft in a flat or maisonette
Part 1 of the GPDO excludes flats, so every external alteration needs permission. Here is the application route, the lease problem and the fire escape issue.
Basement and cellar conversions under a house
An internal cellar conversion and a new excavation are different projects in planning terms. Here is where the line falls, and what a basement impact assessment has to cover.
Swimming pools, hot tubs and pool houses in a garden
A garden pool is usually permitted development, but the 50 per cent curtilage test, plant noise and backwash disposal decide whether it works in practice.
Chimney removal, flues and stoves on a house
A wood burner flue is usually permitted development on a house, with limits on height and position. Here is where planning, listed building consent, smoke control rules and building control each bite.
Front boundary walls, fences and gates: height limits
Boundary enclosures are permitted development up to 1 metre next to a highway and 2 metres elsewhere. Here is what counts as adjacent, what listing and conservation area status change, and how height is measured.
Dropped kerbs and driveways: two consents, one project
The kerb and the driveway are approved by different bodies under different rules. Here is how section 184 crossover consent and the Class F surfacing condition fit together.
Air source heat pump siting rules for a house
Class G permits a domestic heat pump provided the noise standard is met at the neighbour's window. Here is what decides the siting, and when the installation needs planning permission instead.
Solar panels on a house roof: the PD limits that apply
Most roof-mounted solar needs no planning permission, provided it projects less than 200mm from the roof plane and sits below the ridge. Here is where the limits bite and what conservation areas really restrict.
Replacing windows and doors in a listed house
Joinery is usually part of what makes a modest listed house special, so replacement needs consent whatever the new windows look like. Here is the evidence that gets an application through.
Render and cladding on a house in a conservation area
The GPDO withdraws the right to clad or render a house in a conservation area. Here is why, which applications succeed, and how to detail insulated render so a conservation officer can support it.
Loft conversion rooflights: the 150mm projection rule
Class C of the GPDO lets you fit rooflights without permission, provided they project no more than 150mm from the roof plane and sit below the original ridge. Here is how the limits are measured and where they bite.
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