Garage conversion retrospective planning

summer1978

Please don't slate me for not confirming these facts before I even started this job believe me I have learned a lesson. I trusted someone to find out all of the info for my garage conversion and they have let me down badly. In my defence I was dealing with a close family members terminal illness so was not in the best of mindsets.

So I live in a newish build house with a garage to the side of the property. Recently (a month ago) had this garage converted into a room by a building company.

Left the garage door on the front and breeze blocked / plastered behind it to create the room. Made the side access door larger by installing bifold glass doors. Put flooring down and walls were all plaster boarded and painted.

I was told I didn't need any planning permission for this and if in the future I wanted to sell may have to apply for change of use to count it as a room rather than a garage.

Now someone has reported me for not having planning permission. A nice planning officer knocked on the door today. He said the only problem he could see there is no longer 2 parking spaces for a 3 bed house. Our drive measures 7metre by 4.42 and it needs to fit 2 spaces of 4.8 x 2.4 so we are coming up short.

My question is what now? They are going to be calling us on Monday to discuss. We only have one car as are heavy bicycle users. Is there any way around this planning rule?

If not could I remove the bricked up wall and install bifold garage doors instead and claim it's still a parking space (even with a very nice wooden floor)? What are they likely to say?

Thanks for any advice I'm pretty anxious about this x

27cool

When I converted my double garage to a flat for my son. I did not need Planning Permission. However I did need Building Regs. Then when I built a new double garage in the front garden I needed Planning Permission but strangely enough, not building regs.
There was some mention of extra parking spaces, but not a problem as there was already room to park several cars. Even after the new garage was finished.

summer1978

I guess that's the problem here that I don't have the size drive they require (even though I have parked two cars on the drive before) I think if the worst that could happen was I needed to reinstall a working garage door that wouldn't be so bad. I just don't know what they are going to say and the time limit they will give for changes to happen. I needed the extra space as had twins 3 years ago so a total of 4 children and two adults living in a tiny three bed.

Doozergirl

A lot of newer builds do count the garage as a parking space. It's a developer scam really, as it's hard to park in tandem and most people use their garage to store stuff they never use. I don't know why planning departments allow it, as you see the chaos it causes.

In most cases a garage conversion is Permitted Development, but very tight developments can have those rights removed precisely beacuse the developers push it through as required parking space. All councils will have a minimum number of required spaces per dwelling, dependent on number of bedrooms. Whether you use a bicycle is often irrelevant; it's the lifetime of the dwelling that has to be taken into account.

You will need to apply for planning permission. You need to ask the plnning officer what your chances are of being granted. If it is low to none then you may be better off removing it.

Did you have building regulations approval for it? That is a separate department and that needs to be complied with also. You should have a completion certificate.

patman99

Do you have a garden between the front of your house and the pavement?.

If so, is it big enough to use as a parking space?. You can buy special paving blocks that allow water to drain through. Laid on a bed of sharp sand on top of anti-weed matting should appease the planning officer.

summer1978

Thanks we have a garden but it's not even one metre wide and then it's the pavement. It's a private road not adopted by the council that we are no (not sure if that makes a difference) ?

summer1978

Doozergirl thanks for the thoughts........I did get it built to building reg standard but this is also something I'm having to get in retrospect. Bit of a nightmare really. If I can get the planning approved it would be a good step but I'm not sure if that is going to happen? Anyone know what happens if it not granted? What would their next step be?

Doozergirl

Enforcement. Let's not go there yet.

Do you have any garden that could become driveway?

Doozergirl

You're going for retrospective building regs too? Have they been out yet? How do you know it's building regs standard if they haven't been obtained?

summer1978

I have a back garden that would have access if I changed the wall but no front garden that would be any use (it measures 1 metre in width) we are straight out onto a private block paved road (that we pay along with 6 neighbors to upkeep). When we have had two cars parked on the drive way one of them goes a little onto this block pavement. There is still plenty of room for cars to pass but officially the tarmac drive area is not as big as the planners have asked for by 2 metres.

The building company told me it was built to building reg standard and were helping me get retrospective approval. Their standard of work has been good so I trust them however I do know gaining this in retrospect is risky. I hadn't yet started this process as was dealing with a terminal illness in the family plus I felt it was something that if it had to remain classed as a garage wouldn't be so bad. I just needed the extra space in the home and the structure hadn't changed so it was safe and essentially still a garage. A much cleaner and brighter garage with a bricked up door. I had asked questions to building regs and planning department and they both told me in theory there was no problem with this just to contact them for change of use if and when we decided to do this.

System

All you can really do in this situation is apply for retrospective planning permission and see what the parking requirements are and if you can't meet them you have to negotiate a solution.
It's likely that one of neighbours wanted to do the same and citied yours as an example when they were told they couldn't do it (or they had already been refused)
Tbh this is a perfect example of why it's not always best to take planning advice from builders, a lot of them rely on anecdotal knowledge (although some are very knowledgeable)