From this month, garden-building projects WILL NEED planning permission.

As new planning regulations come into play this month, InsideOut Buildings anticipates that more people will need planning permission to build a garden office, studio or shed.

The new legislation is designed to protect neighbours from having to suffer large garden buildings hard up against their fence. However, the new rules may have some strange repercussions. Outside of Conservation Area and AONB you can build a series of ugly, 20 sq metre, 2.5m tall, flat roofed bunkers in your garden, without needing planning permission!

InsideOut Buildings, who design and build environmentally responsible garden offices and granny annexes, are expecting to see 85% of clients needing planning permission against a previous average of 75%.

So what do the new regulations mean for people wanting to build a garden annexe?

The fundamental point is that if you want to install a garden office or even a shed more than 2.5m/8ft 4in tall without planning permission, it must be 2 metres or more from any boundary. This will be difficult to acheive in a small,urban garden.
“Check the criteria below,” recommends Lynn. “If your building ticks one or more of the points, you’ll need planning permission. But if you’re proposing a good quality, well-designed building in a sensible, non-intrusive position, you’re very likely to get that permission.”

As of this month you will need planning permission:

• If your garden building will sit forward of the principal elevation of your house, facing onto – and visible from – a highway. In other words, if it’s in the front garden!

• If the height of the eaves – where the gutters are – is more than 2.5m, with an overall height of more than 4m for dual pitched roofs and more than 3m for mono-pitched roofs.

• If it is higher than 2.5m at the highest point and within 2m of a boundary. All buildings more than 2.5m tall must be at least 2m from the boundary. To avoid planning permission, they’d also have to comply with point 2.

• If it covers more than 30 square metres of floor space.

• If it covers more than 20 square metres in a garden that’s smaller than 100 square metres.

• In National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, if your building covers more than 10 square metres and it is more than 20m from your house.

• In designated areas, if your garden building is at the side of your house.

• If it is within the boundaries of a listed building.

• You will still need planning permission in Conservation areas.

• If you want decking more than 30mm above level ground.

But are the new rules causing concern? No – quite the opposite.

InsideOut Buildings Director Lynn Fotheringham explains why. “A planning officer in Oxford recently revealed that because the new rules allow you to build an ugly, flat-roofed bunker less than 2.5m tall, anywhere in your garden without planning permission, a beautiful, eco-friendly wooden building that needs planning permission would be viewed very positively by planners.”

So far, Inside Out Buildings has a 100% planning permission success rate. Why? According to InsideOut architect Gordon Smith, it’s because InsideOut works with planning departments and their local requirements. “We also have a detailed understanding of applying for planning permission.” he explained. “Interpreting the planning regulations correctly is half the battle! Because our garden buildings are sensitively designed and built with subtle, low impact materials, they fit well with what today’s planning legislation aims to achieve.”

Tags: building, business, home, water

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 18th, 2008 at 3:15 pm and is filed under Ethical Pulse. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.