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Permission to extend

The rules which govern what you can do to your home without planning permission are changing. Planning expert Andrew Moss has the details.

This article first appeared in The Journal in Sept 2013.

Many homeowners thinking of extending their properties are put off by the prospect of having to apply for planning permission.

However, the Government has put in place changes which introduce a temporary allowance to extend houses further than permitted in the normal rules – The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Order) 1995.

Whilst the provisions of the 1995 Order remain, the amendment allows a rear and single storey extension up to 8 metres in length to a detached dwelling house and up to 6 metre extension to any other dwelling house, such as one which is semidetached or terraced.

This additional allowance, which is restricted to 4 metres in height, effectively doubles the provisions set out in the 1995 Order, but any development built under the new rules must be completed by 30 May 2016.

However, while you don’t have to seek planning permission for such larger extensions, you will have to inform your local council of your plans, setting out the development proposed, before any work is started.

The council will consult with all neighbouring properties by letter and they will then have 21 days in which to submit comments. If any of the neighbouring properties consulted object, the local authority can consider whether the extension proposed would have an impact on the amenity of any of those neighbouring properties (not just those who have objected to it).

If the authority considers that there is an impact on amenity they can refuse the prior notification and you would then have to apply for planning permission in the normal way.

If there are no objections or the authority considers that there is no impact on amenity, they would confirm that prior notification is approved. If the authority fails to inform the applicant of a decision and a period of 42 days expires then the applicant can lawfully commence with the development.

Anyone wishing to use the additional permitted development rights should be careful to consider other restrictions set out in the 1995 Order which still apply.

You should also be careful to confirm that your permitted development rights have not been removed or are not restricted either because a direction has been served by the local authority removing permitted development rights, a condition has been placed on a planning permission removing permitted development rights or there are restrictions because of the location of a property within a National Park Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Conservation Area, the Broads, a World Heritage Site of a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

It is also now common practice to seek to obtain a certificate of lawful use from the local authority to confirm that planning consent is not required for the extension proposed in order to give legal clarity that the extension can be completed and when any future sale of the property is being completed there is no uncertainty as to whether the extensions to the property are lawful.

For more information, please get in touch.

Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.

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