Can I get permission to extend beyond 4m?

mobile73

Hi

I have a detatched house which already has a double storey rear extension of about 3m. Is it possible to get permission to build to say 5 or 6m, or is the 4m I read about the limit. Am confused between whether this is the limit for permitted development, or simply a hard and fast rule for all planning permission applications.

Thanks for any advice.

KB

Doozergirl

You're reading about permitted development.

You can extend a house further than that with planning permission. It will depend on the location of your neighbours upstairs windows. LAs usually use a rule of no further than 45 degree angle from the middle of the neighbours' nearest upstairs window. There will also be limits around the percentage of the land being built upon.

mobile73

Thanks, so is there a way of finding out whether likely to be succesfiul before speding around £2K on architects fees, planning fees etc?

ormus

yes. talk to your local planning office. they can give you a steer as to if your wasting your time/money etc...
generally speaking. second extensions are much more difficult than first ones.

Doozergirl

Yes, what ormus said. Also speaking to an architect as they'll design it according to what they think will be acceptable. A local architect will deal with the local planners all the time and will know what they want to see and what local guidelines are.

akitabow

Another good idea is to have a look around at some of the other properties in your area, its likely if one or more people have something similar then generally you should be ok getting planning.

macman

akitabow wrote: »

Another good idea is to have a look around at some of the other properties in your area, its likely if one or more people have something similar then generally you should be ok getting planning.

Not really, because precedent does not matter. The regs have changed many times over the years, and what was permitted a decade or two ago may not be now-especially if your street is now in a conservation area for example.

akitabow

macman wrote: »

Not really, because precedent does not matter. The regs have changed many times over the years, and what was permitted a decade or two ago may not be now-especially if your street is now in a conservation area for example.

But in general terms you can tell if somebody has recently had the work done of if it has been done for a long time and common sense would be able to tell you generally if things would be ok. I am not suggesting in any instance to avoid going to planning department mearly making a suggestion to base a general consensus. Although the rules and regs have changed over the years in my opinion they have become a lot clearer also.

macman

Best way is to make a rough sketch of the proposal with approx dimensions, plus a photo of the existing site, and take it in for a chat with your LA's duty planner. They will be able to tell you in broad terms what is acceptable and what is not.

System

there is no precedent in planning.
it doesn't matter what's recent/old no precedent means just that!! every case is to be judged individually.

to the op, you can get an architect/designer around to look at it and they should give you an idea of the local restrictions etc before spending all your money on a design that will never get pp! a lot of companies will offer a flat rate for a pre planning application which is a semi formal response from the planning department about what they would (or wouldn't) support on the site, sometimes well worth doing!

mobile73

Thanks for all the suggestions. Going to speak to a local architect who has been recommended by lots of freinds and see what he recommends.