Garage conversion and parking spaces

sseshield

There's a 3 bed property I'm interested in buying that has an integral garage and 2 parking spaces on a driveway in front. If I was to offer on the property it would be with a view to convert the garage into living space in the future. I'm aware that certain builds come with car park space requirements and current guideline in Wales state 1 space for each bedroom up to a max of 3 for the area it sits in (Caerphilly county). I believe the property was built around 2007 and is on an estate. Originally there were only 2 parking spaces which was the garage and then the drive directly in front. An additional parking space has been added at a later date by removing the front lawn area to the opposite side of the path leading to the front door. The kerb has been dropped and it's all tarmacked. My question is, if the property only came with 2 spaces to begin with, if planning permission was applied for to convert the garage, would today's requirements be enforced that 3 parking spaces are required or would the loss of a garage Parking space be negated by the already added parking space so there would still be the same amount of parking spaces at the property as when built. Who would I need to contact or documents I could look at to find out about the number of spaces that the property must have as a minimum. If the parking space is an issue then I know it's a no go for future reference. 

AdrianC

It's all down to the local authority and their planning guidelines.

Some local authorities offer pre-application advice, usually chargeable.

Section62

sseshield said:

My question is, if the property only came with 2 spaces to begin with, if planning permission was applied for to convert the garage, would today's requirements be enforced that 3 parking spaces are required or would the loss of a garage Parking space be negated by the already added parking space so there would still be the same amount of parking spaces at the property as when built.

As AdrianC says, it is down to the local planning authority and their own guidelines/policies.

My experience is in England and there authorities would normally assess an application based on the rules that apply currently. Because you are changing the use of an existing parking area the authority would need to check whether the parking standards are being complied with now - the parking is a 'material consideration'.

You need to check whether the original planning consent had conditions regarding the use of the garage and also the front garden. And also whether permitted development rights were removed.

It might be the case that the lawn/garden had to be retained and not used for parking. Furthermore, back in 2007 many councils were using maximum parking standards - i.e. two spaces might have been the maximum allowed - so on both counts there is a possibility that the existing third space could be contrary to the original planning consent. (unless planning consent was subsequently given for the third space)

Is there much on-street parking? It might be you'd have more issues if other residents are already struggling to find space to park and loss of a space at yours would exacerbate the situation. If there is ample parking the planners might be persuaded to take a more flexible view on the standards.

sseshield

Section62 said:

sseshield said:

My question is, if the property only came with 2 spaces to begin with, if planning permission was applied for to convert the garage, would today's requirements be enforced that 3 parking spaces are required or would the loss of a garage Parking space be negated by the already added parking space so there would still be the same amount of parking spaces at the property as when built.

As AdrianC says, it is down to the local planning authority and their own guidelines/policies.

My experience is in England and there authorities would normally assess an application based on the rules that apply currently. Because you are changing the use of an existing parking area the authority would need to check whether the parking standards are being complied with now - the parking is a 'material consideration'.

You need to check whether the original planning consent had conditions regarding the use of the garage and also the front garden. And also whether permitted development rights were removed.

It might be the case that the lawn/garden had to be retained and not used for parking. Furthermore, back in 2007 many councils were using maximum parking standards - i.e. two spaces might have been the maximum allowed - so on both counts there is a possibility that the existing third space could be contrary to the original planning consent. (unless planning consent was subsequently given for the third space)

Is there much on-street parking? It might be you'd have more issues if other residents are already struggling to find space to park and loss of a space at yours would exacerbate the situation. If there is ample parking the planners might be persuaded to take a more flexible view on the standards.

There is some on street parking on the estate and the majority of houses have their allocated spaces/garages. I've just checked the local planning applications and the house next door applied in 2013 to vary one of the planning conditions to  convert their garage into a playroom which was approved. Again, they only had parking spaces for 2 cars originally (Inc garage space) but converted the other side of the front garden into 2 extra spaces So they have 3 parking spaces in total after converting their garage. That makes me think the property I'm looking at would also need 3 spaces. I'll call planning department tomorrow and see what they say.

I can't find any planning application on the property I'm looking at for doing the parking space on the front garden but also there doesn't appear to be any applications for any other properties that have done it.

AlexMac

Dunno about Wales but when I converted the integral garage of my 4-bed, 1987 London house into a habitable room with an en-suite shower & loo, I went through the local Council website and discovered that I didn't need PP if I wasn't extending beyond the existing footprint.  I got Building Control on the case and they were fine; just asking for slightly beefier footings across the front where I replaced the up and over door with a waist-height brick and block cavity wall and triple window, and demanding more insulation, including under the suspended floor which we chose to raise to level up to match the solid floors in the rest of the house.   And I live in a Conservation Area.  So I've got building regs sign off!

So get googling your own Council and the Planning Portal.  The lack of past local applications probably means it's not needed

The Homebuilding and Renovating magazine website pages are pretty handy too, and say the same;

"...Most integral garage conversions do typically fall under Permitted Development, meaning planning permission is not required. .."

www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/garage-conversion

Section62

AlexMac said:

Dunno about Wales but when I converted the integral garage of my 4-bed, 1987 London house into a habitable room with an en-suite shower & loo, I went through the local Council website and discovered that I didn't need PP if I wasn't extending beyond the existing footprint.
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And I live in a Conservation Area.  So I've got building regs sign off!

Extending outside the existing footprint is only one of many considerations. Another important one in a conservation area is whether an Article 4 Direction has been made - did you check this as well? Likewise, specific conditions might apply to the building.

Building Regulations and Planning are entirely separate functions, and whilst some BC teams will pass details of applications on to planning enforcement to cross-check, the fact work has building regs sign off doesn't by itself alter the requirement for planning consent.

AlexMac said:

So get googling your own Council and the Planning Portal.  The lack of past local applications probably means it's not needed

Unlikely, since the OP has already said a neighbour obtained consent to vary one of the planning conditions to convert their garage. It would be very unlikely the same conditions don't apply to the OP's property.

Generally, the lack of past local applications is just as likely to mean residents are blissfully unaware of the requirements of the planning process. Perhaps as a result of doing a quick google and finding a bit of oversimplified and somewhat misleading generic planning 'advice' -

AlexMac said:

The Homebuilding and Renovating magazine website pages are pretty handy too, and say the same;

"...Most integral garage conversions do typically fall under Permitted Development, meaning planning permission is not required. .."

www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/garage-conversion

- What typically applies in "most" cases is irrelevant when looking at a specific case. What matters are the specifics for each property, such as previous applications/work, conditions, Art4 directions, listed buildings etc.