Diy Conservatory...

joncarpet

Our kitchen wall protrudes about 1.5m further into the garden than the rest of the house.
Is the 3m calculated from this point, meaning we could put upto a 4.5m deep conservatory on the lesser protruding wall?

planning_officer

joncarpet wrote: »

Our kitchen wall protrudes about 1.5m further into the garden than the rest of the house.
Is the 3m calculated from this point, meaning we could put upto a 4.5m deep conservatory on the lesser protruding wall?

No, there have been a few recent appeal decisions clarifying this point. A house can have several elements to its 'rear wall', if some parts project more than others (common on Victorian terraces, which are L-shaped).

So you could extend 3m beyond each of the rear elements, but not 4.5m beyond one of them.

I also assume that the existing 1.5m projection of the kitchen is part of the original dwelling (as first built) - otherwise, if it's a subsequent extension, then this will already have 'eaten into' the 3m allowance, and you could only go another 1.5m in depth beyond this part.

onlineplanningapps

It's ok to worry if you dont or do need planning permission, I would always recommend that you get it in writing from the council before going ahead with the work, you dont want to miss something and risk problems later and what about when you sell the house? you may need to prove that you didnt need planning permission.

Despite the recent changes in the planning restrictions we have still not found it easier to reassure our clients that they do not require Planning Permission. Most require this in writing and as a Professional company we always obtain this from our Local Authority. Submitting a “Permitted Development Enquiry” and then obtaining a “Certificate of Lawfulness” has always caused us delays and cost more than a full application. In most cases it has been our experience that submitting a full applications a week or so after the contract has been secured is our best option. Why?
1, We know the decision will come within 8 weeks
2, We know the cost is fixed
3, Client has a legal document they understand
We submit our surveyors drawings and photos to a secure server and the planning company do all the drawings and submissions in 5-14 days for only £446.
try www onlineplanningapplications . co .uk

planning_officer

onlineplanningapps wrote: »

Submitting a “Permitted Development Enquiry” and then obtaining a “Certificate of Lawfulness” has always caused us delays and cost more than a full application. In most cases it has been our experience that submitting a full applications a week or so after the contract has been secured is our best option. Why?
1, We know the decision will come within 8 weeks
2, We know the cost is fixed
3, Client has a legal document they understand
We submit our surveyors drawings and photos to a secure server and the planning company do all the drawings and submissions in 5-14 days for only £446.
try www onlineplanningapplications . co .uk

Firstly, this is a bit of blatant self promotion, which I'm sure is against the forum rules! However, that's not my point - my point is that I do not understand the logic here.

Firstly, why submit a planning application for something that could be permitted development? A householder planning application costs £150 and a Lawful Development Certificate costs £75, so it's obviously cheaper for your clients and your point (1) above is wrong. Secondly, LDCs should also decided within 8 weeks (the same as planning applications), so your point (2) is also wrong. Thirdly, an LDC is also a legal document (therefore your point (3) is also wrong). So why make your client pay twice the price for a planning application? Interpreting PD is really not that difficult for householder proposals (and your company only seems to deal with conservatories, which are very easy to interpret), so I do not understand why you make all your clients pay £150 when they only need to pay £75? It seems the only reason is your inability to interpret the new PD regulations!

If someone submits a planning application to my authority for something that is permitted development, we will issue a letter stating that it is permitted development and does not require express planning permission - however the applicant has paid £150 for the privilege, whereas for £75 they could have had a formal Lawful Development Certificate decision in the same time! Furthermore, we no longer accept informal PD enquires - everyone is made to submit a Lawful Development Certificate application for a formal determination.

fluffymuffy

We charge £40 to establish if something is lawful development (they still do it informally in all our nearby councils) and we deduct that from the cost of a planning application shoiuld it be necessary. We typically charge £280 for a simple planning application (and we are insured by the RIBA) - £446 is a very hefty sum for this.

This is not self-promotion as we are not interested in getting work from random strangers on an internet forum. Just for information.

cheeks

I am very interested in this thread as we have a conservatory, but havn't applied for planning permission yet:shhh:

fluffymuffy wrote: »

Conservatories will come under the heat loss part of the Building Regulations later this year - probably in October (said our local Building Inspector). Then they will become very expensive indeed.

Would it be best to apply for retrospective Planning Permission before Building Regs apply to conservatories too?
We are in a terrace and the conservatory extends 4metres from the back wall of the property, so as i understand it, we will need planning if we ever decide to move?
There are loads of conservatories on our estate, so i hope it won't be a problem, and it is no bigger than our next-door-neighbours conservatory.
We have removed the patio doors which led from the original part of the house into the conservatory, and it has its own radiator running off the central heating system. Would this be classed as an extension more than a conservatory, or does it make no difference?

planning_officer

It makes no difference to the need for planning permission. A conservatory IS an extension. You're confusing planning permission and building regs - they are completely different. Purely in terms of planning, was the conservatory started after Oct 2008 or is it older than that? If it has been built since Oct 08, then yes, it needs planning permission as it is 4m deep. Having said that, it would become immune from enforcement action after 4 years - so you can always apply to retain it now, or just wait until 4 years have passed since its completion and then it will be lawful anyway. Whilst if you sell the property in the future, the buyers solicitors may want confirmation that the conservatory has planning permission, if you can provide evidence that it was completed at least 4 years ago, then this should persuade them that it is lawful.

jimmylees

Hi,

I used this company http://www.diyconservatoryquote.co.uk/

My mate is a builder so the labour was cheap as well

27col

themanbearpig wrote: »

By hand? The footings too? Thats insane, hasn't he heard of a mini-drigger?!
You get them for about £50 a day!

You can't use a mini digger if there is no access.
Many years ago I dug the complete foundations for the house that I was building, by hand. It took me weeks, but I'll tell you what, those trenches were exactly the right size. When you are doing it by hand, you do not take out a single shovelful more than you have to. We did not have much money for the project, so every little saving helped. I wished that I had used a digger by the time that I did finish.