'Permission to Build Over' and full planning - for a garden shed!! UPDATE

hc25036

I'm in deep doo-doo here, so apologies if this is a bit long. With a couple of friends who are in building trade but short of work, I am most of the way through building a garden shed. OK, it's large shed (18 square metres), but it's not a house or a shopping mall.

We live on a long road with long rear gardens. Most houses have a shed or summer house (or 2 doors down a brick-built monstrosity) at the very end of the garden, which backs onto a public park. My friends have helped with a couple of these and checked with the council building control dept a couple of years ago to confirm the specs that avoid planning and control approvals.

While I was on the council web pages a few days ago for another reason (rubbish not collected) I foolishly had a look at the regs and spotted that we might need buildings control approval as the shed is within 1 metre of a boundary. This was not the case a couple of years ago, when you could build up to the boundary.

Being a law-abiding citizen, I gave them a bell and they suggested that I send in an application (and £350!), which I did. Next day they call back and say that they have discovered that there is a public sewer in the park, and I need to get review and approval from Thames Water (another £350...) and full planning approval (you guessed it - another £300)!! He also said that Thames Water may want special foundations built, meaning we would have to demolish what we have and abandon the job as I can't afford to start again.

Has anyone had to do this - the shed is wood-framed, 4 metres by 4.5 and built on a reinforced-concrete 100mm base which is on undisturbed ground. What are the chances of having to have fancy foundations? I reckon that the sewer is at least 2 metres from the back of the shed (I'll have to check with the council sewer map on Monday).

Obviously I will phone Thames Water development department on Monday and my hope is that they will fall about laughing (their web pages and leaflets have pictures of huge cranes and housing developments on them). Keep your fingers crossed for me.

wallbash

Being a law-abiding citizen,

Yes will keep fingers crossed , a big pity you looked at that web page.

ps if I had read that web page might well have a touch of amnesia.

ormus

thats why i never tell the local council anything, unless i really really have to.

hc25036

Thanks guys - lesson learned (!), although in my defence I would point out that we'll be asked about approvals when we eventually sell up....

wallbash

about approvals when we eventually sell up....

If you did not know , you could not be held to account.
AND after a few years ...... memory fades!

hc25036

Had a brainwave over the weekend and realised we have a relative who is involved in planning for a major UK company. He put me in touch with a consultant and we had a very interesting chat....

His opinion was that the water company would not be terribly interested in a garden shed and also that the local authority were wrong to request a full planning application just because of the sewer. He advised an informal call to the water company development office.

They were incredibly helpful and said that they are not in the least interested in a garden shed if it doesn't involve digging foundations, and they were willing to confirm that in writing. I'll send that to the council and with any luck it will all go away and we can get on with the garden [STRIKE]bar[/STRIKE] shed.....

Jackinbox99

I built exactly the same 2 years back. Its a 22ft square timber framed shed / garage on a re-inforced concrete base. I researched and my understanding was any timber framed shed is classed as a "temporary" structure and therefore no permission needed, unless it takes up more than 1/2 your garden (or something along those lines). My shed takes up the full width of my garden and because I have a large garden, doesnt take much room up.

If you were digging huge foundations and building a brick shed / garage then I can see things would be totally different.

Id speak to them again with your new information and hopefully all should be okay.

hc25036

It seems the rules changes in October 2008 - anything within one metre of a boundary needs building regs. What I can't find easily is what a building regs inspection will be assessing....

samtheman1k

Sounds like you built it prior to Oct 2008

WillowCat

hc25036 wrote: »

It seems the rules changes in October 2008 - anything within one metre of a boundary needs building regs. What I can't find easily is what a building regs inspection will be assessing....

No, an outbuilding between 15 and 30sq m prior to October 2008 still needed building regulations approval, unless it was either more than 1 metre from the boundary, or built of 'substantially non-combustible' materials. This effectively rules out timber sheds and timber clad timber frame buildings.

Easiest thing is to move it away from the boundary.....I think (but don't quote me!) that you'll get away with your roof/gutter overhang being in the one metre zone so just put your walls a metre away. Or build in brick/block?

WillowCat

Just another thought - could you build two buildings, side by side, each under 15 sq m? Anyone ever tried this?:rotfl: