New garage has no doors. Planning permission question.

frank_drebbin

Hello,
I am buying a newly built house, which is on a plot with 4 other houses.
All of them have double garages, including the one I am buying, except mine has no garage doors.

On the advert it was listed as having a "carport". The agent told me that the neighbour kept making objections at every planning application, so the builder was forced to put in a carport not a garage, despite all 4 other houses having garage doors, and the building in question being down a private drive and not visible from the neighbours property or the road.

However (sorry for long explanation) I have found out that the building is not legally a carport, as it is enclosed on 3 sides. This makes me wonder if permission was gained only for a carport (has at least 2 open sides) but the builder put a garage in anyway and just not the doors (I know planning permission is required for either because the building is over 30sq metres).

A garage with no doors is useless to me, as I'd have nowhere secure to put things. Does this mean that if the neighbour objects again and someone checks the building that it would have to be demolished? and/or would I be liable?

Would I need permission to put doors on this otherwise fully build garage? (it is not made of flammable material, and is more than 5 metres from the property, but 2 metres from neighbours shed).

I would imagine in this case that the views of the neighbour would have no weight, as they cannot even see the front of the building, and it doesn't affect them. Should I just put on doors and plead ignorance if any problems?

Thanks for any advice on what I can or should do, and sorry for the long winded question.

new_home_owner_3

garages are funny, has a garage got to be able to fit a car inside?

The reason i ask this is where i used to live there are a few houses that state they have garages, but theres no way a car would fit inside.

blueboy2001

This sounds strange. Contact the Planning department and ask to view the file for the planning application to build the properties - chances are there will be something on there stating why the garage has no doors or should only be a carport.

There are no size restrictions (in terms of floorspace) on outbuildings under the 2008 permitted development regs, so unless the PD rights were removed on the original planning permission decision notice (if it's a small site, they might well have been) you could build the garage PD provided it's not too high.

If you can speak to, or email the planning officer who dealt with the original application they may be a useful source of information too.

PasturesNew

If you want to store stuff securely, get a shed .... I can understand you wanting a secure garage, for your car, so nobody could tell if you were in/out and you'd make a saving on your car insurance, but for storing stuff you could just get a shed (or 3)

Can you view the application online at all and see what the objections were to a garage?

Fire_Fox

You are asking the wrong people: check on the local council's Planning Portal to see what consent was granted for OR ask the vendor for a copy of the planning application. If you have any further queries speak to Planning themselves, they don't (usually) bite!! Depending on what that reveals you will know whether you cal simply add doors, I suspect not as otherwise why did the vendor apply for planning in the first place??

FilthyLuka

PasturesNew wrote: »

If you want to store stuff securely, get a shed .... I can understand you wanting a secure garage, for your car, so nobody could tell if you were in/out and you'd make a saving on your car insurance, but for storing stuff you could just get a shed (or 3)

Can you view the application online at all and see what the objections were to a garage?

You could try building your new shed in you car port and put a door on it

puddy

but one thing, if the garage is v important to you and you dont want to get lumbered with anything that will come and bite you in future, dont exchange until this is all sorted out

not all councils have a 'planning portal'! (ours has a website obviously designed by a 5 year old), but when i was buying last year, i phoned the council and spoke to someone who just looked things up on the computer and went and checked a file for me, see if you can get some information this way

tux900

frank_drebbin wrote: »

I would imagine in this case that the views of the neighbour would have no weight, as they cannot even see the front of the building, and it doesn't affect them.

Visibility of the property is usually irrelevent when it comes to garage vs car port issues. The issue is usually one of parking - a garage is all-too-often used as a general dumping ground hence your cars could end up parked elsewhere (on the road for example). A car port, on the other hand, is only really any good for parking in hence would likely be used as such hence why many planning departments make them a condition of approval.

Planning issues along these lines are very common, particularly on new developments when they try and squeeze as many properties as possible in without due consideration (in the opinion of the council and/or existing residents) to the load on parking in the area.

However, your situation sounds rather unusual given the size and construction of the end product indeed sounding like a 'garage without doors' and hence I would ascertain exactly what the situation is with the developers and the local planning department.

Should I just put on doors and plead ignorance if any problems?

No. Ignorance would not be accepted as an excuse and would not spare you from any mandated remedial action whatsoever.

Incidentally, does it look like the other neighbours have just added their own doors or is it just yours that has been left like this from the outset? Given the property description, were you actually expecting a garage? Or is it only now you can see it's very nearly a garage that you'd like to make it one? (I'd be the same!)

Mathew

frank_drebbin

Hi,
Thanks for all replies. I have looked up the plans on the local planning portal and they show the structure exactly as it's built (i.e. a garage with no doors) but all throughout it is referred to as a Carport, although as I stated a carport needs to be open on two sides.
so I rang a planning officer at the council and explained, and asked if I could put doors on or not. He said, that "as the plans didn't say anything on them about the approved structure having to stay unchanged, I could alter it if I wished".... confused as to why this should be the case (after all why get planning permission for something if you can change it anyway!) I said "so as far as you're concerned I can put doors on if I wish?" he said again "the plans dont say that the structure has to stay in its original form, so you could enclose it if you wish."
This sounds odd to me, but at least it's a positive outcome. I only wonder why the builder didn't bother putting garage doors on in the first place.....

Just checked, the original plans of the site don't include a garage there, as with the others, so he obviously sought permission afterwards, and maybe thought that it would be easier to get permission for a carport.... although apparently I don't need permission to change it to a garage (as it already has a back wall?). Odd...

tux900

Result!

Presumably you will get him to confirm the situation in writing?

Mathew

Richard_Webster

Sometimes Councils are pressured by locals about planing applications and so make decisions in a way that apparently satisfies the locals but which the Council officers know are nonsenses - so that then later they can throw up their hands in apparent horror and say they couldn't do anything about it - what a pity!

Possibly the house was half built with structure already there and the locals moaned for some reason so the Council told the builder not to put doors on and gave permission in that form.

I would suggest that you get it in writing that the later addition of doors to your particular house's "garage" will not require any further permissions.