Building and Planning

Does my conservatory need building regulation consent?

Does my conservatory need building regulation consent?

The very first thing to establish is whether what you are building actually is a conservatory.  There is no definition in the Regulations of exactly what a conservatory is. This can make it hard to judge whether what you are building will be regarded by your Local Authority as a conservatory or an extension. This is crucial as as extension usually requires planning consent and is subject to greater building regulation requirements, while a conservatory does not require planning consent and the building regulation requirements are much more relaxed. In practice the defining requirement is whether there will be a separation between the existing house and the conservatory, such as the original external wall. If there is no separation, then it is likely that the work will be viewed as a conventional extension and the additional requirements apply.

 Assuming that work can be defined as a conservatory there are further factors that determine whether building regulation consent is required. The conservatory must be built at ground level and cannot be more than a single storey high. It must have a floor area that is less than 30m².  The remaining issues are more technical.  First there is a requirement that the glazing complies with Part N of Building Regulations, relating to protection from impact. Secondly any electrical work that has its own ring main, or is extended from an existing room classed as a special location, such as a kitchen,  must comply with Part P of the Building Regulations, which deals with electrical safety. If all of these conditions are met then you shouldn’t need building regulation consent for the conservatory. You will still need the appropriate consents in respect of the glazing and any electrical works.  If you have any doubts in respect of any of these issues, it is very important that these are clarified with the Local Authority, ideally before any work commences. If a problem subsequently emerges then enforcement action can be taken by the Local Authority, which could result in the demolition of the extension.

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