Permitted Development
GPDO classes, limits, conditions, prior approval and Article 4 directions explained.
Latest in Permitted Development
279 articlesThe three year deadline on a prior approval
A planning permission must be begun within three years. A Part 3 prior approval must be completed within three years of the prior approval date, and the condition sits in the Order where nobody can vary it.
Class M: betting shops and takeaways to homes
Class M turns a small shop, betting office or hot food takeaway into a dwellinghouse through prior approval. The 150 m2 floorspace cap and the 20 March 2013 qualifying use date decide most cases before design begins.
Class L and moving between C3 and C4 use
Class L permits a dwellinghouse to become a small house in multiple occupation and back again, with no application. The limits are the household test, the six-resident ceiling and the Article 4 directions that withdraw the right.
Industrial and warehouse extensions under Part 7
Part 7 Class H lets an occupier extend an industrial building or warehouse without an application, within limits that are tighter than they look. This covers the allowance, the boundary condition and the new process restriction.
Bat roosts and roof works under permitted development
A re-roof or loft conversion needs no planning application, so nothing prompts an ecology check. This sets out when to commission a roost assessment, the survey seasons that control the programme, and who is liable.
Protected trees and permitted development on the same site
Permitted development grants planning permission for the building work, not consent to touch a protected tree. This covers the consent routes, the root protection trap in foundation design, and how to sequence the two.
Permitted development rights on a newly built plot
Permitted development on a new build house is routinely removed by condition under Article 3(4) of the GPDO 2015. Here is how to find the condition on the estate permission, and the routes available once you have.
Permitted development on a house created under Class Q or MA
A dwelling created through a Part 3 prior approval has no Part 1 permitted development rights, so extensions and outbuildings need an application. Curtilage is the harder problem.
Running a business from home: when permission is needed
Most home businesses need no permission because the use of the house has not materially changed. Visitors, deliveries, noise and storage are what shift the answer.
Shepherd's huts, pods and mobile structures in a garden
A garden hut can be lawful with no permission at all, or an enforcement risk, depending on whether it is a building and how it is used. The use is what councils look at.
Cladding, render and external finishes: what needs permission
Re-rendering a house is usually permitted development under Class A. Designated land, listed buildings and Article 4 directions are where that right disappears.
Does a conservatory count towards the extension allowance
A conservatory attached to the house is an enlargement under Class A, so it uses the same depth allowance as a brick extension, measured from the original rear wall.
Designated land and the permitted development you lose
Designated land does not have a separate rulebook. The same classes apply with paragraphs switched off, and knowing which ones bite decides whether you need permission.
Flats and permitted development: what is and is not available
The Order defines a dwellinghouse so as to exclude flats, which removes every Part 1 householder right. A few other classes still apply, and leasehold consent runs on its own track.
Article 4 directions: checking, scope and compensation
An Article 4 direction removes a permitted development right in a mapped area. Read the direction itself, check which classes it names, and claim the fee exemption on any application it causes.
Paragraph W and how prior approval procedure works
Paragraph W is the procedure behind every Part 3 change of use needing prior approval. It sets the information required, the consultation duties, the 56 day deemed approval and the limits on conditions.
Telecommunications apparatus under Part 16 explained
Part 16 grants permitted development rights to electronic communications code operators. The council may only consider siting and appearance, and it has 56 days before deemed consent applies.
Hard surfaces and driveways under Class F
A front driveway is permitted development only if it is no more than 5 square metres, made of porous materials, or drains to a permeable area in your own garden.
Roof extensions and dormers under Class B
A rear dormer can be permitted development, but the volume allowance is cumulative against the original roof and the 20 centimetre eaves set-back catches most breaches.
Side extensions under Class A: width and height limits
A permitted development side extension has to be single storey, no more than 4 metres high and no wider than half the original dwellinghouse. Here is how each limit works.
Curtilage and why it limits outbuilding rights
Permitted development for outbuildings applies within the curtilage of the dwellinghouse, and caps coverage at 50 per cent of it. Here is what curtilage means, why it differs from the title, and how to evidence it.
Article 3(5) and when permitted development is lost
Article 3 of the GPDO 2015 grants permitted development and then takes it away in defined circumstances, including where the building or use relied on is unlawful. Here is how to check the position and confirm it formally.
Class ZA demolition and rebuild: what it permits
Class ZA of Part 20 covers detached blocks of flats and former office or light industrial buildings. The footprint constraint, the height caps and the prior approval matters that decide most schemes.
Outbuildings used as a home office or gym
A garden room is permitted development only while the use stays incidental. Sleeping, letting and running a business with visitors all take it outside Class E.
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