Project Type Guides – Page 11

Solar farm planning permission on farmland: the tests

Ground-mounted solar on farmland is judged on soil grade, landscape effect and reflection long before design detail. Here is the evidence base a rural landowner needs to assemble.

Storage yard or open storage planning permission

A field or yard used for commercial storage is a material change of use. The decision turns on principle, surface water, access geometry and what the site looks like from outside.

Planning permission for a mosque, church or prayer hall

A congregation buying a shop or industrial unit needs a full change of use application. The decision usually turns on parking at peak attendance rather than on design. Here is the evidence that answers it.

Gym planning permission and the plant noise problem

Indoor fitness sits in Class E(d), so a shop or office unit needs no change of use application. What does need attention is impact noise from free weights, roof plant and the evening parking peak.

Opening a children's nursery: planning permission steps

A nursery sits in Class E(f), which means a shop or office unit needs no change of use application at all. Houses and community halls are different. Here is the evidence that decides those applications.

Micro-pub or taproom planning permission in a shop unit

A shop unit cannot become a micro pub or taproom without full planning permission, because drinking establishments sit outside Class E. Here is the application, the noise case and the hours conditions to expect.

Project Type Guides6 min read

Hot food takeaway planning permission and extraction

There is no permitted development route from a Class E unit into a takeaway. Here is what the application turns on: flue termination, odour abatement, plant noise, health policies and the conditions to expect.

Glamping site planning permission: pods, yurts and safari tents

Temporary use rights cover a seasonal campsite, not a year-round pod site. Knowing where the line sits saves an enforcement case later.

Project Type Guides6 min read

Padel and tennis court planning permission with floodlights

The surface may be permitted development, the 3 metre glass enclosure and the lighting columns are not. Here is what a court application has to answer on noise, floodlighting, openness and drainage.

Farm shop planning permission and the diversification test

A trestle table of your own potatoes is agriculture. A barn selling bought-in goods is a shop. Where a farm shop sits on that spectrum decides the whole application.

Swimming pool planning permission: indoor and outdoor

The pool is rarely the problem. The plant room, the enclosure, the trees and the backwash are. Here is what Class E covers, where it stops, and what a council will ask for.

Equestrian planning permission: stables, menage and horses

Section 336 treats grazing as agriculture, but horses kept for riding are a different use of the land. That distinction decides most equestrian applications.

Caravan and residential park home site planning permission

Permission authorises the use, a site licence regulates the layout, and the licence cannot be issued without the permission. Here is how the two consents fit together and why flood risk decides so many rural caravan applications.

Creating a new vehicular access onto a rural lane

A rural access application turns on whether a driver emerging from the gateway can see far enough along the lane. The surfacing, gates and hedge all follow from that.

Holiday let planning permission and occupancy conditions

Holiday letting may or may not need permission, depending on intensity and location. Here is the section 55 test, the London 90-night exception, the evidence councils look for and the conditions to expect.

Basement extension planning permission under a house

Digging out a basement under an existing house is an engineering operation, and Class A rarely covers it. Here is what councils ask for and in what order.

Front extension or porch: rules and refusal reasons

A porch is permitted development within three limits from Class D of the General Permitted Development Order. Anything bigger on the front of a house needs a householder application, and the building line usually decides it.

Project Type Guides9 min read

Adding a balcony to a house or flat: what councils ask

A usable balcony almost always needs planning permission, even on the rear of a house. Here is how councils judge overlooking, what changes for flats and listed buildings, and what to put in the application pack.

Project Type Guides10 min read

Garage conversion: when you need planning permission

Most integral garage conversions are permitted development, but a parking condition on the original permission can stop yours. Here is how to check, and how a section 73 application removes the obstacle.

Project Type Guides9 min read

Dropped kerb applications: planning and highways together

A vehicle crossover needs highway authority consent under section 184 of the Highways Act 1980. Planning permission is a separate question, and for most unclassified residential streets the answer is no. Here is how the two routes fit together.

Project Type Guides10 min read

Converting a house into flats: the planning permission route

Splitting one dwelling into two or more self-contained flats is a material change of use under section 55, so there is no permitted development shortcut. Here is what councils measure, and what evidence wins validation.

Project Type Guides9 min read

Getting planning permission for an annexe for a relative

Most annexes for a relative need planning permission, and the decision turns on whether the council sees ancillary accommodation or a second dwelling. Here is how that judgement is made and how to shape your application around it.