Garden Room

ma9gm

Hi,

We're looking to add a garden room to the bottom of our garden. But I'm trying to work out if it's permitted development or not. To my simple reading it is permitted development. It will be less than 2.5m in height. It will cover way less than 50% of the land area. It won't have any plumbing installed. It will be used for playing in for the kids, and a day a week I'll probably do some work in it! I work in front of a computer with spreadsheets, so it's not like I have a loud disruptive job!

To my simple reading, I think this is permitted development. But I can't seem to find anywhere on the Enfield council website that actually helps me definitely decide it is!! Can anyone help with what to do?

beaker141

I think planning and permitted development is a national policy, unless youre in exempt areas with outstanding special beauty etc.

But I think you're right, less than 2.5m within I think 1 or 2m of a boundary is within pd for planning.

Dont forget building regulations though - I think you are exempt under a certain sqm area, but above that and maybe some other conditions than bregs may apply.

ma9gm

beaker141 wrote: »

I think planning and permitted development is a national policy, unless youre in exempt areas with outstanding special beauty etc.

But I think you're right, less than 2.5m within I think 1 or 2m of a boundary is within pd for planning.

Dont forget building regulations though - I think you are exempt under a certain sqm area, but above that and maybe some other conditions than bregs may apply.

Oh Building regs. I never thought of that. I'll have to find out what the details are on getting that sorted. Hopefully the company building the garden room will be able to help on that front!

Doozergirl

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/43/outbuildings

What beaker said. PD rights are national.

Outbuildings are generally exempt from building regulations if under a certain size, but you'll want a minimum standard of quality and insulation to be able to use it year round. It's what you'll being paying for.

Furts

Being pragmatic, garden rooms are in same category as a solid roof (such as a Guardian roof) being put on a conservatory. This category is smoke and mirrors evasion of the Buildings Regulations. Fine by me but people need reminding of this before they sign up to the lifestyle images being promoted by slick sales people.

Is a garden room exempt because it is a temporary structure? Not really because it will be in place for longer than 28 days.

Is a garden room exempt because it is below the 30 square metre rule. Not really because most are put up against a boundary fence to contravene this exemption.

Is a garden room exempt because it is below the 30 metre square rule and also substantially non combustible? How can it be when it is a timber shed? Timber burns easily in comparison with a proper structure with bricks, blocks and fire proofing.

The bottom line is many garden rooms are badly sited fire traps, that also fail to comply with the thermal requirements.

The upside is provided people do not sleep in them (and many do), with a little bit of forethought they should be easy and safe to escape if they do go up in flames. However if the fire burns the neighbours fence or garden the shed owner is a fool for locating it in an unsatisfactory location.

Will all this be spelt out to OP before they sign up to purchase? Does OP really care about any of this?

I open up the topic for lively debate!

beaker141

ma9gm wrote: »

Oh Building regs. I never thought of that. I'll have to find out what the details are on getting that sorted. Hopefully the company building the garden room will be able to help on that front!

I bought mine from http://www.boothsgardenstudios.co.uk/faqs who spell out quite succinctly the building regs position amongst others in their FAQ. Point 3 in the FAQ.

woolly_wombat

Furts wrote: »

Is a garden room exempt because it is a temporary structure? Not really because it will be in place for longer than 28 days.

Is a garden room exempt because it is below the 30 square metre rule. Not really because most are put up against a boundary fence to contravene this exemption.

I think you might be referring to previous rules on permitted development.

The legislation on PD was relaxed very substantially last year under the coalition government (as I discovered recently when I contacted the local planning department to query why I hadn't received official notification of a neighbour's plans to erect a colossal 20mx8m permanent outbuilding, 4m high, just a few metres from my boundary!!!!!).

The planningportal website referenced by Doozergirl outlines the current regulations.

They also have a very useful interactive miniguide to outbuildings PD:
https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/43/outbuildings/6

Furts

woolly_wombat wrote: »

I think you might be referring to previous rules on permitted development.

The legislation on PD was relaxed very substantially last year under the coalition government (as I discovered recently when I contacted the local planning department to query why I hadn't received official notification of a neighbour's plans to erect a colossal 20mx8m permanent outbuilding, 4m high, just a few metres from my boundary!!!!!).

The planningportal website referenced by Doozergirl outlines the current regulations.

They also have a very useful interactive miniguide to outbuildings PD:
https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/43/outbuildings/6

Doozergirl and you are both referring to Planning. This is a concept based on aesthetics, and such like. I am referring to the Buildings Regulations. These are the practicalities, the technicalities, and aimed at the nuts and bolts of getting a job done. Two entirely different concepts here.

TheCyclingProgrammer

Also remember that strictly speaking, use of outbuildings under permitted development should be incidental to the use of the main dwelling house - this is not that same ancillary use.

Different LAs have their own interpretation of this but it would typically cover uses such as garden sheds, playrooms occasional study use etc. It would also generally exclude any self contained accommodation so be wary when adding kitchen or bathroom facilities.

Using garden rooms as an office can be a grey area, especially if running a business rather than just using it as an occasional home office. If you have visitors to the building you're likely to need planning permission - of your work is mostly clerical you should contact your LA for advice. Many companies sell these buildings as garden offices that fall within PD without mentioning this important point. If you're running a full time business you may need PP.

Regardless of whether you need building regs approval you should still be striving for the best spec you can afford over size in terms of things like thermal insulation and security.

If in doubt it might be worth getting some advice from your local planning department and possibly obtaining a certificate of lawful development.

Doozergirl

beaker141 wrote: »

I bought mine from http://www.boothsgardenstudios.co.uk/faqs who spell out quite succinctly the building regs position amongst others in their FAQ. Point 3 in the FAQ.

What Brian fails to mention is that if you ever plan to sleep in the building, it requires planning permission.

I'm also not sure how one particular building they sell can meet with PD when it's the land that will dictate the size of a building under PD, not the other way around.

TheCyclingProgrammer

Doozergirl wrote: »

What Brian fails to mention is that if you ever plan to sleep in the building, it requires planning permission.

I'm also not sure how one particular building they sell can meet with PD when it's the land that will dictate the size of a building under PD, not the other way around.

In my research almost all garden building companies advertise their buildings as "meets permitted development" or "no planning required" or some other variation whilst quickly glossing over the finer details of PD and planning law (very few mention the incidental purpose rule).

Incidentally I'm sure I read somewhere that permitted development rules apply at the point you construct the building (so it has to have an incidental purpose) but there's nothing stopping you from using it as something else in the future, even if it no longer meets the definition if incidental use. I will have to try and dig up a link.

Edit: the link I was after, including comments;
http://planninglawblog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/permitted-development-for-outbuildings.html?m=1