Loft Use

markiepat

Hello
Im considering making my loft into a useable hobby space. Just put in loft boards and insulation in the roof and covering with board, put in some lights and some power points. Can i do this without planning permission or building regs as it won't be a bedroom would I need to provide permanent access or not.
Cheers
Mark

ormus

basically if its used for anything but storage, you officially need PP.
lots of peeps do it unofficially of course.:)


if anyone ask, say it was done 20 yrs ago by the previous owner.
(dont try and sell the house with an extra loft room though).

i would keep it very simple so that i could always turn it back into a simple storage area. quickly.

Ken68

Some of the roof trusses I see don't look very strong.
Work checking if they will take a load.
Older houses have thicker beams.

TroysMum

Firstly if they are roof trusses it would be structurally unsafe to remove any of these members as it would seriously affect the structural stability of the roof.
The loft conversion would definatly need building regs but i'm unsure on planning.
I definatly would not just go ahead and do it even if you do wish to sell the house eventually and tell them it was done 20 years ago, as this will not make a difference, you would have to put an application in retrospectively and expose and make good works.
Permanenet access would also be required.
Dont do it without permission as it will be costly in the long run never mind the fact that it would not comply with regs (i'm assumin).
I used to work in local authority building control and the amount of people selling houses and putting in retrospective applications due to searches being done were huge.
It just isnt worth it, trust me! Do the job properly and do it once!

ameliarate

You do not automatically need planning permission for a loft conversion but you do need building regs (unless different areas are different?). There is something called "permitted development" but you would find out if you filled in an enquiry form from your local council. If you are not having a dormer you almost certainly will NOT need PP.

Canucklehead

Good evening: Info from the 'horse's mouth' available here... http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/genpub/en/1115315235162.html

HTH

Canucklehead