One of the most common questions we get asked is ‘do you need planning permission for a garden room?’ The answer is not always a simple yes or no. There are a number of different rules to be aware of when it comes to building on your land without planning permission.
Essentially, all garden outbuildings must adhere to permitted development regulations although, at Crown Pavilions, our standard garden room collection is built to meet permitted development regulations so that you can create a beautiful outdoor space swiftly, without planning permission. Our Director and Co-founder Luke Dejahang said, “Crown Pavilions feel a duty of care to ensure that all of our buildings and their location fall within the designated guidelines.”
Read on to find out more about planning permission regulations and considerations when building a garden room.
Do you need planning permission for an outdoor garden room?
In most cases, a garden room or building will not require planning permission as long as it adheres to building regulations and permitted development guidelines. In brief, these guidelines state that the building must not be designed for overnight accommodation and must be under 2.5m in height in order to be exempt from planning permission.
Garden room permitted development guidelines and considerations
There are a few main factors to consider when building a garden room without planning permission. This includes:
Maximum height
Your garden room must be single-story and have an eaves height of no more than 2.5m from ground level. Including your roof, you can build up to 4 metres for a gable or 3 metres for all other designs. However, when building within 2 metres of a boundary, the total height of your garden room, including the roof, is limited to 2.5m without planning permission.
Total area
Guidelines restrict you from building on more than 50% of your land around the original house without outbuilding planning permission. We say ‘original’ house as this includes any previous home extensions or outbuildings built on the property since 1948, even from previous owners.
Location
You must not build your garden room in front of the principal elevation of the house (what is generally understood as the front of the house), or to the side of your house without applying for planning permission. It must also not be built closer to a public road or footpath than the property itself.
Garden room use
You are permitted to use a garden room without planning permission for daily living, however, you are not allowed to use it for overnight accommodation or self-contained living accommodation. Also, you are not permitted to install an antenna on the exterior of your garden building.
Verandas and balconies
Guidelines state that you must not build garden room verandas, balconies or raised platforms; any raised decking is limited to 3cm high. The main reason for this is privacy as a raised platform may interfere with neighbours or disrupt the view from other gardens.
Quick Reference – Why you may need planning
Below are some of the most common reasons why you may need planning:
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- If you live in a flat, apartment or maisonette – Unfortunately these types of properties do not hold the same permitted development rights as houses so will require a full planning application.
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- If you live in an area defined as designated land, i.e. areas of outstanding natural beauty, national parks, the Broads and conservation areas (although the rule is generally looser in conservation areas, it is easy to check with your local council. Normally if the building cannot be seen from the road and conforms to permitted development regulations it should be fine).
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- If you are planning on building forward of the principal elevation of the house, which is generally classed as the elevation containing the front door.
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- If you plan to build a building over the permitted development regulation heights of:
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- 2.5m if within 2m of any boundary (flat roof)
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- 3m if further than 2m from any boundary (flat roof)
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- 4m if further than 2m from any boundary (pitched roof)
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- If you live in a listed building
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- If your planned building takes the total area of land occupied by buildings to over half of the land then planning will be required.
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- If you or anyone else is planning to live in the new building planning permission will be required.
Do you have questions? Speak to our knowledgeable garden room team TODAY.
Call 01491-612-820 or email [email protected]
Special considerations for garden room planning permission
There are a few more special considerations to think about regarding where your property is located as this can have a significant impact on building regulations. Here are some examples:
Do you live in a house?
Please note that all planning regulations we have stated apply to UK houses only and do not apply to flats, maisonettes or converted houses. These other types of buildings do not have permitted development rights and therefore have different regulations.
Do you live in a listed building?
A listed building refers to any structure recognised and celebrated as ‘nationally important’ by Historic England or the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. If you live in a listed building, you will require full planning permission for any structural changes. If you are planning to build a structure that is attached to your main building, you will also need listed building consent.
Do you live on designated land?
Designated land includes National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, World Heritage Sites or conservation areas. If you’re looking to build a garden room on this type of land, there are a few more outbuilding planning permission requirements in addition to those stated previously.
For each of these designated lands, except conservation areas, the rules for building a garden room are as follows:
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- You may build without planning permission if your garden room is located more than 20 metres from your main building and less than 10m x 10m in size.
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- You may build a garden room larger than 10m x 10m with planning permission.
For all designated lands, including conservation areas:
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- You cannot build a garden room to the side of your property without planning permission.
Obtaining planning permission is not always as complicated and time-consuming as it is made out to be, and the results can sometimes be worthwhile. However, if you are looking for a hassle-free way to create your own outdoor space, a Crown Pavilion garden room could be the perfect solution for you. Our garden rooms and wooden gazebos are built in situ and rarely require planning permission as they fall within the permitted development guidelines.
It’s always best to ask the experts so if you need further advice regarding planning permission guidelines, please get in touch with our team who would be happy to help.
If you need more information and technical guidance, we recommend you read the official Permitted Development for Householders published by the UK government.
