Planning permission - go/no go decisions?

Grimbal

We're viewing a property tomorrow that is in a road we like, but not in a condition or layout that we'd really be happy with.

If we were to buy the house, we'd ideally like to put in a full width, 2 storey extension. I'd really appreciate it if anyone could give me a rough idea of the sort of questions that planning departments usually ask, and what sort of issues would become deal breakers ?

To summarise, the house is:
- 3 bed, 2 reception detached
-on a decent sized plot
- houses on the road (although not adjacent to) have been extended
- the idea of a new layout that we had would involve extending the property backwards into the garden, with the addition of one bathroom (so obscured) window to one side only


We'll be looking up the local councils website for pointers towards the sort of issues that they take into account when considering an application, but it would be great to get your real-life experiences too
Any advice or comments most welcome !

poppysarah

What else has been done on the street?

(We couldn't have a window on the side at all when we did out extension ... even though we had one on the side before)

Kirsty and Phil always speak to planners but they will generally tell you to put an application in ... perhaps it's having a TV camera with them that does it.

If a similar house has had something similar done there's a good chance.

You could ring a local plan drawer man from the paper and see if they'll let you pick their brains...

surreybased

See if your council offer pre planning advice - usually available to anyone, don't need to own the property. Book appointment with planning office (hand over a small fee) and they will talk about conditions/planning preferences in your area. Planning can change literally road by road so not a one size fits all. The first principle to establish are your proposals within permitted development.

mrschaucer

You don't need Planning consent for a 2 storey rear extension of 3m deep (from the rear wall of property) on a detached prop so long as the prop hasn't been extended before. See the gov's Planning Portal for details.

RAS

See if any of the other housews have a similiar extension; then go and get a copy of the planning permission from the Council. I did that and used it as the template for the outline permission.

Swan_2

please click the Spam button on Seorawal's post folks

Grimbal

thanks all - we're off to see the property in a few minutes, and if we decide it has possibilities, I suspect I'll be obsessing over the planning websites for the rest of the weekend !

Mrs Chaucer, thank you very much for that info - it does seem that what we want to do would be permitted development. However, what I'm not clear about is what actually PD actually encompasses. Does it mean that you're "more" likely to get a planning application past, or can it still mean that the neighbours would be able to veto any plans you had?

thanks again all !

WelshNic

If it's nothing out of the ordinary I don't think you'll have too many problems getting planning - and I don't think they consult all the neighbours now, possibly just immediate ones if at all.

We have a new neighbour (a local builder) that recently bought a corner plot on our st, we guessed he'd extend it but we only found out he had applied and been approved by checking the website.

blackshirtuk

Permitted development rights are that you are allowed a single story extension out to 3m from the original wall up to a maximum sqm(30?!?)

Note "original" when the house was built, it may have already been used if someone has already extended.

ab7167

Permitted development means that no planning permission is required, therefore nothing for the neighbours to object to. I think you can send the plans to the council and they will confirm in writing that they are permitted development. We've just had our full planning permission approved for something very similar to what you describe. Don't forget that some councils may want to see off street parking if you increase the number of bedrooms - best place to start is with the Local Development Plan on your district council website, look at what other people had done as precedent will have been set - google earth is very useful!

Finally, don't forget you will need Building Regs approval, this is totally separate to Planning permission.

Good luck!

seven-day-weekend

Permitted Development means you do not need Planning Permission.

Write to your Council's Planning Department with a sketch plan showing the existing and proposed details, with measurements, (doesn't need to be to scale for this purpose) and they will tell you if it is PD or not. Then you will have a letter to put with your deeds - and to show to your neighbours if necessary! - to say your extension is OK.

I used to write these letters all the time when I worked in Planning.