Must I leave side access to the garden for the upstairs flat?

Sajmir

Hello :j

I am in the process of having my architect produce drawings for a side and rear extension for my property.
I am planning on turning my 3 Bedroom House into two flats. However, I would like for the ground floor flat to have full access to the garden and the upstairs flat to not have any access.
Is this legal? Or the upstairs flat must have access to the garden?

As my property is skewed outwards at the back, I am losing a large chunk of land by allowing for a side access.

There currently is no lease/deeds in place as I am currently the freeholder of the whole property and I will remain the freeholder of the land once the house has been converted into two flats.
Please let me know your thoughts.

foxy-stoat

I do not think you will break any laws by doing so. What does your local authority planning department say about what your proposing?

davidmcn

Have you posted about this before? (obviously it would have been under a different user name). Somebody else had a similar recent query.

By "legal", do you mean "do you need it to design it that way in order to get planning permission"? It's really a planning question, so I would suggest you speak to the planners. Otherwise there's no "legal" reason why a flat must have access to a garden, as obviously a large proportion don't.

eddddy

Sajmir wrote: »

I am in the process of having my architect produce drawings for a side and rear extension for my property.

Planning policy varies for different local authorities and different areas.

Doesn't your architect know what the local planning policies are?

If not, it might be better to find an architect who does. Otherwise your plans could be rejected for contravening a list of local planning policies.

Retired_Mortgage_Adviser

I have owned an upstairs flat conversion (1 of 3 flats converted from a detatched house) with no access to the garden in an east London suburb. So it most likely isn't "illegal".

However, planning rules will determine the specifics of what is and isn't allowed.

Sajmir wrote: »

Hello :j

I am in the process of having my architect produce drawings for a side and rear extension for my property.
I am planning on turning my 3 Bedroom House into two flats. However, I would like for the ground floor flat to have full access to the garden and the upstairs flat to not have any access.
Is this legal? Or the upstairs flat must have access to the garden?

As my property is skewed outwards at the back, I am losing a large chunk of land by allowing for a side access.

There currently is no lease/deeds in place as I am currently the freeholder of the whole property and I will remain the freeholder of the land once the house has been converted into two flats.
Please let me know your thoughts.

Sajmir

foxy-stoat wrote: »

I do not think you will break any laws by doing so. What does your local authority planning department say about what your proposing?

Unfortunately, there is a lack of information on their website. I cannot specifically find a criteria where this is required.
There are two properties on my road who have done similar projects. One of them has allowed for a side access. The other has not, but they have a corner property which they could very easily add a gate/entrance to the side of the garden.

davidmcn wrote: »

Have you posted about this before? (obviously it would have been under a different user name). Somebody else had a similar recent query.

By "legal", do you mean "do you need it to design it that way in order to get planning permission"? It's really a planning question, so I would suggest you speak to the planners. Otherwise there's no "legal" reason why a flat must have access to a garden, as obviously a large proportion don't.

I have not... I've also done a few searches on here to find a similar question. Majority were for new buyers rather than planning.
Correct. Would the local authority decline my permission if I do not allow for a side access. As mentioned above, I am unable to gather this information from their website.

eddddy wrote: »

Planning policy varies for different local authorities and different areas.

Doesn't your architect know what the local planning policies are?

If not, it might be better to find an architect who does. Otherwise your plans could be rejected for contravening a list of local planning policies.

Unfortunately not, this is the first time he is doing a flat conversion in my local authority. This is also my first project

Sajmir

If it helps - the local authority is Watford Council.

Retired_Mortgage_Adviser

You could go on the local planning portal website yourself and check out application for similar conversions over the past few years.

That should give you a better idea of the things the council looks for.

eddddy

Sajmir wrote: »

Unfortunately not, this is the first time he is doing a flat conversion in my local authority. This is also my first project

I would have thought that even the most inexperienced architect would know about getting pre-application advice from a local planning authority.

It's likely to cost a few hundred pounds, but that could save thousands of pounds worth of re-doing plans etc.

(Are they really an 'architect', or just somebody who is drawing up some plans for you? FWIW, 'Architect' is a protected title. It's illegal to call yourself an Architect, if you're not qualified.)

Mojisola

Sajmir wrote: »

Unfortunately not, this is the first time he is doing a flat conversion in my local authority. This is also my first project

Wouldn't it have been wiser to choose an architect with relevant experience to take you through your first project?

foxy-stoat

Is there an area out the front the leave the bins?

Are you doing away with a side access gate altogether or are you thinking about a second gate for the first floor flat?

I would of thought that you would need a side gate for the ground floor flat anyway to access the garden if required for future work or a secondary escape route in case of fire.