Replacing garage door with brick wall and uPVC door

booksandbikes

Our garage door is needing replacement, but we are now considering removing the door and having a 'normal' sized door put in and the remaining section of wall either fully bricked up or partly bricked and with a window put in.

Before we get carried away with this idea - is this permitted development or do we need planning permission? Local council website isn't clear. We will not be converting the garage into a livable space so it is not a conversion as such, but it would drastically change the face of the building. I've checked the original covenants from when the house was build (in the 60s) and cannot find anything about needing the garage to still be able to house a car.

Grateful for any input. 😊

grumpy_codger

I think it's worth asking as the council can be against if you don't have enough off-street parking spaces. For a garage conversion that needed permission they wanted 2 parking spaces for the originally 3-bed house.

WIAWSNB

Has anyone else in your 'hood with a similar house actually converted their garage? 

stuart45

If you've ever got doubts about whether planning permission is required you can apply for a certificate for around £100.

silvercar

Why would you do this if you have no intention of using the garage for anything other than storage?

bjorn_toby_wilde

Nothing wrong with it if the OP is going to use it as a workshop for example. It would be warmer for certain.

They don’t actually say it will just be for storage.

FreeBear

WIAWSNB said:

Has anyone else in your 'hood with a similar house actually converted their garage? 

They may have done a conversion without the appropriate permissions in place.

Councils now have up to 10 years to take any enforcement action for planning or building regulation non-compliance. The scale of penalties has also increased.

Similar conversions in the 'hood' might help when applying for permission (if it is required). But policies change, so what has gone before may not hold as much weight.

booksandbikes

Just an update.....it turned out to be a non-starter. Our neighbour across the road started doing it (which prompted the thread), but now that he has finished, I have to say it looks pretty awful. 🤦‍♀️ We are getting a new electric roller door fitted today. 😊

Eldi_Dos

booksandbikes said:

Just an update.....it turned out to be a non-starter. Our neighbour across the road started doing it (which prompted the thread), but now that he has finished, I have to say it looks pretty awful. 🤦‍♀️ We are getting a new electric roller door fitted today. 😊

Out of curiosity does the new door have a letterbox?

I would imagine what you are proposing to do would add more value to your property than the other idea.

rob7475

We wanted to use our garage as a home office / gym / storage but it was cold in winter. I left the roller door in place and built a stud wall with a door just inside which allowed me to add insulation and make the garage more usable. From the outside it still looks like a garage and if the council ever decide that what I've done is wrong, I can rip the stud wall down in half an hour :-)

bjorn_toby_wilde

booksandbikes said:

Just an update.....it turned out to be a non-starter. Our neighbour across the road started doing it (which prompted the thread), but now that he has finished, I have to say it looks pretty awful. 🤦‍♀️ We are getting a new electric roller door fitted today. 😊

Sounds like a good decision.

I often see garages being converted to extra rooms. Each to his own but I would never buy a house without a garage.  I value the space for my bikes, tools, paint, plumbing bits, recycling and other assorted flotsam.

Not forgetting the most important appliance in the house….the beer fridge!