Garage conversion - planning question

Spiritseeker

Hi all,

I am considering turning a garage into a bedroom, and from doing some google research, it seems that a garage conversion normally does not need planning permission (although will always need to comply with building regs clearly) but in some boroughs it does. I have tried to find out if this sort of 'change of use' conversion does/would need planning permission but am not sure if my inability to find it listed simply means it is not necessary, or I have just not found it! Can anyone point me in the right direction? The borough is Barnet, and I have been looking on the barnet.gov.uk website in the residential planning section.

And then whether it does or does not need planning permission, would people think it would be best value for money to hire a general tradesman to do everything (he would obviously need to be a qualified electrician) or to hire tradesman who specialise in masonry/eletrician/plumber etc for the different aspects of the job?

thanks in advance

gone4gold62

hi a mate of mine has just had this very job done as a bed room for elderly parents. and had a shower fitted as well .they had some one who specialises in this type of work and they didnt need planning permission but they did keep the garage door and had french windows fitted in the back off the room over looking the garden ,think this cost approx 7,000. all in .

planning_officer

A garage conversion that only involves internal works and replacing the garage door with windows is not normally regarded as 'development' and therefore does not require planning permission. The only exception to this (irrespective of whichever district/borough it's in) is if a condition attached to the original permission for the erection of the house/garage restricts it for parking cars only - then, it requires planning permission to vary this condition. Such a conversion is not a change of use, as the use is 'residential', both before and after the conversion, so there's no change of use involved - the issue is whether there is a restrictive condition and you can only find that out by investigating the planning history (or contacting the council!).

blushingbride_3

Hi, I have just been throught the process of getting planning, although no longer having work done.

Our house is only 7yrs old and had a coverent saying no conversion because permitted planning rights were removed, this is possibly something you need to check.

Because permitted rights were removed we have fee free application and there were no objections.

The quotes we got were for basic conversion between £3 and £6k

We have decided to save the money and use the garage as a gym unconverted.

HTH

just call the council and ask

planning_officer

blushingbride wrote: »

Our house is only 7yrs old and had a covenant saying no conversion because permitted planning rights were removed, this is possibly something you need to check.

A covenant is a civil issue - it's something you find on the deeds of a property, not on a planning permission - it's a condition on a previous planning permission that removes permitted development rights, rather than a covenant.

hamstercheeks_2

Spiritseeker wrote: »

Hi all,

I am considering turning a garage into a bedroom, and from doing some google research, it seems that a garage conversion normally does not need planning permission (although will always need to comply with building regs clearly) but in some boroughs it does. I have tried to find out if this sort of 'change of use' conversion does/would need planning permission but am not sure if my inability to find it listed simply means it is not necessary, or I have just not found it! Can anyone point me in the right direction? The borough is Barnet, and I have been looking on the barnet.gov.uk website in the residential planning section.

And then whether it does or does not need planning permission, would people think it would be best value for money to hire a general tradesman to do everything (he would obviously need to be a qualified electrician) or to hire tradesman who specialise in masonry/eletrician/plumber etc for the different aspects of the job?

thanks in advance

you should check with local council first of all - to see if u would haveto submit a planning applicationand also a building warrant - see how much this costs and then get a general tradesman out to give a quote - should be able to download fromthe localcouncil what spec would be required, eg damproofing etc

goodluck

hamstercheeks_2

planning_officer wrote: »

A garage conversion that only involves internal works and replacing the garage door with windows is not normally regarded as 'development' and therefore does not require planning permission. The only exception to this (irrespective of whichever district/borough it's in) is if a condition attached to the original permission for the erection of the house/garage restricts it for parking cars only - then, it requires planning permission to vary this condition. Such a conversion is not a change of use, as the use is 'residential', both before and after the conversion, so there's no change of use involved - the issue is whether there is a restrictive condition and you can only find that out by investigating the planning history (or contacting the council!).

it depends on the council and if it is changing the look of the building fromthe outside then yes planning permission will need to be granted as well as a building warrant

Debt_Free_Chick

hamstercheeks wrote: »

it depends on the council and if it is changing the look of the building fromthe outside then yes planning permission will need to be granted as well as a building warrant

Which I think is why Planning Officer posted "A garage conversion that only involves internal works ...."

pandora205

I had my garage converted into an additional bedroom about 6 years ago. This was done by a professional company that specialised in conversions. We didn't need planning permission but it did need to conform to building regulations. The work was inspected by an inspector who certified that it met requirements.

I'm not sure if the regulations are universal or vary from local authority to local authority.

hamstercheeks_2

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

Which I think is why Planning Officer posted "A garage conversion that only involves internal works ...."

if replacing the garage door with a window then that changes the look of the building and also the purpose

if no planning permission is required then it's contrary to what i was told by my local council and mine is a new(ish) build. I was told i would have to get both planning permission and a building warrant

Debt_Free_Chick

hamstercheeks wrote: »

if replacing the garage door with a window then that changes the look of the building and also the purpose

I think we take "internal works" to mean something that doesn't affect the external appearance