If you need more space, it can make sense to extend instead of moving, but what are the planning permission rules? Simon Rix investigates what you need to know
Lots of people, especially in these financially uncertain times, will want to consider extending their homes rather than moving. This may be to gain some much-needed extra space for themselves, to improve the value of their home, or both. Before you embark on such a project, it’s worth doing your homework on matters such as planning consent and Permitted Development (PD) rights. Here are the answers to some of the most popular questions we get asked about this subject.
IS PLANNING PERMISSION NEEDED?
The answer to this question is definitely yes if you want a side extension of more than one storey. Even a single-storey side extension will require planning consent if the house is within a designated area, which includes a National Park, the Broads, an area of outstanding natural beauty, a conservation area, or if it’s within a World Heritage Site zone. Any extension within these areas that includes external cladding will also need planning permission. You may also live in an area that is covered by what’s called an Article 4 Directive, which limits or removes your right to build an extension without planning consent. If so, you will need to put in a planning application.
In fact, wherever you live, if you want an extension that stretches beyond a side elevation of your house and if that side elevation fronts onto a highway, you’ll need to submit a planning application. You’d also need planning permission if your extension would protrude forward of the principal elevation of your house. The principal elevation of your house may be obvious, but often this is a grey area, so think about getting professional advice on this if you are in any doubt.
OTHER INSTANCES WHERE YOU NEED PLANNING PERMISSION
You will also need planning consent if your home is a flat or a maisonette, if it’s a converted house or a house that was originally created through a PD right, either as a change of use or a completely new dwelling, or if it was consented with a planning condition that specifically prevents the type of extension you want. A planning application will also be needed if your extension would result in more than half the area of land around your ‘original house’ being covered by extensions or other buildings. Although you may not have built an extension to the house, a previous owner may have done so, so it’s important to work out what the ‘original house’ was. The defini
