Small Home Extension - Principal Elevation?

Charsiu

Hi All!

Literally just signed up to the forum to ask this, as I'm not too sure where to go!

I've been planning on a single story extension of my front living room, it's a fairly small extension but given the current property prices it seems worthwhile to me to gain the extra living space for the coming years (can't afford to move any time soon).

Given the relative small scale of my extension, I'm hoping it doesn't require Planning Permission mainly due to the 8-10 week turn around time and the cost that I maybe able to skip. I've reviewed the points that constitutes a Permitted Development but wanted some clarification on what is deemed the Principal Elevation of the "Original House". My understanding of it is being how the house was, post it's original construction; fairly straightforward except my house (and all those along the street) has a protruding room I can only describe as a Porch.
It's not a porch as defined in the [STRIKE]link [/STRIKE] Planning Portal Site below though, as it isn't a porch that "encloses" my main external front door.

So I dug through all our old documentation we had accumulated during the purchase of our house to see if I could find original plans of the property. Only thing I have is the H.M. Land Registry - Ordinance Survey Plan Reference, with a Crown Copyright of 1974 (approximate build date of my house). This plan highlights the boundaries of my property, and you can clearly see the "porch" building I described above in the plan. I'm hoping this effectively means that my Principal Elevation is as far as the porch building? My plan was to extend my living room up to the current "porch" boundary, and then if possible build a conventional porch to my main front door.

I've uploaded some diagrams and photos to illustrate the above here:

Thanks in advance!

Edit: Not allowed to post links because I'm a newb, not even via the image link!

stator

Post the text of the link without making it a link and someone else will convert it.

I don't think what you plan would be allowed though. A lot of planning terms are vague and would be interpreted using common sense, so the principle elevation of your house would be the wall with all the windows in it.

Doozergirl

You can only build a porch of up to three square metres under permitted development. It is effectively an outbuilding, as you maintain the front door and building control is not required.

There is no permitted development to extend any other part of the front of your house in any other circumstance.

The principal elevation is every part of the front of your house, exactly as it was when it was built. Protrusions are just that, protrusions. You have no PD rights to build up to the line of a protrusion. The principal elevation is a 3 dimensional thing, not an imaginary line on the ground.

Permitted development guidance is very clear. You will be altering the character of the house and the street scene. As such, you need a planning application.

Charsiu

Thanks for the responses, I've had a look at the planning permissions portal for my borough and it looks like some of the neighbouring houses have not applied for PP for their extensions (identical to what I'm trying to achieve). Not what I had hoped, but netter start looking into PP then!

Thanks!

bgm_co

If the principal elevation fronts a highway then you're going to have to go the planning route. If it doesn't front a highway then permitted development could be possible.

stator

If the front of your house doesn't front a highway (road or path) then you can do pretty much whatever you like

Post some photos

Charsiu

Unfortunately, it does face the road. Google Drive link to the photos:

https
/drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BzfVjV2EznFkOUZRMFYtMG1Wanc&usp=sharing

stator

Yeah, you'd need PP.

Is that a Crosswall house?

Charsiu

What's a crosswall house? It's an end-terrace.

stator

Crosswall means there are two load bearing walls each side of the house and the front and back walls of the house are timber framed with cladding/shingles etc, sometimes with small areas of brick work.

But don't worry I was just wondering

Hoploz

The line of the walls is what counts, so if there is a step then the bit further back still counts as the line you can't extend beyond under PD. but you may have no problem under PP. I assume the other houses who applied have had it granted? It's only a few weeks delay. You could start before you get the permission through if the officer indicates its likely to be approved, but it's risky and not recommended.