Building and Planning

Does the work I am doing need planning consent?

Does the work I am doing need planning consent?

Not all work requires planning consent. You do not usually need it for internal changes to buildings, or for minor changes to the outside of buildings such as the installation of alarm boxes and telephone connections. Other examples of work would include erecting fences and walls below a certain height. These are what are called Permitted Development Rights. It is very important to stress that, unless you are 100% sure that the work being carried out doesn’t need consent, that you contact your local authority and ask. If you do not do this and it later turns out that it did, you could have to pay tens of thousands of pounds to rectify any faults or even be forced to remove any extensions or alterations. If the works are major and you are employing an architect then they will be able to advise you if you need planning consent. It would be likely though that it would be required for large-scale work. To determine whether any work being carried out needs planning consent requires a few questions to be answered. The first question you will need to ask yourself if whether the work you are carrying out affect the external appearance of the building. Most additions and extensions require planning consent, but internal alterations, or work that leaves the exterior of the building unchanged, usually do not. You will also need to ask yourself if you are dividing part of your house for use as a separate home, ie creating a new flat or bedsit. If so then you will, in all likelihood, need planning consent. Also if you are planning to use a caravan in your garden as a home then the same will apply. You do not however need to get consent if you are just letting a room or two to lodgers. You also need to ask yourself if you are dividing part of your part of your home for business or commercial use or building a parking place for a commercial vehicle. This will usually require planning consent You may also need to review any previous planning consents granted for your propery. It may be that the type of work that you are carrying out was prohibited in a previous consent and this may stop you from carrying out the work, even if consent would normally be granted. In this kind of situation specialist advice should definetly be obtained as this could be challenged. The work may also impede the view of any people using any nearby roads, or mean a new or wider access to a trunk or classified road. This will almost definetly require planning consent. It cannot be stressed enough that, if you are not sure whether the work you are carrying out requires consent, that you ask the local authority. The consequences of getting this kind of decision wrong can be horrendous! http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/445/PlanningAGuideforHouseholders_id1500445.pdf for further info

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