Do you need planning permission for a glass conservatory?

[juniper9]

I'm in the process of buying a house with a 'sun room'... it has a basic wooden frame with patio doors joining it to the main house, and triple layered corrugated plastic as its walls and roof.

The current owner is an architect, so I'm guessing it is all above board, but I was wondering if they've chosen plastic sheeting rather than glass due to planning permission?

If I were to convert it to glass, would it be an absolute pain?

Thanks

There are 2 issues:

1. Planning permission - which tends to be concerned with the street view of the house - and was probably not required.
2. Building Control checks that the extension complies with Building Regulations . If there are external doors separating the "conservatory" from the main house then it is like an "outbuilding" and does notneed building control consent either.

So it sounds all OK - you can just call the local authority Planning Department to check.

Replacing the roof - different question. Glass might be heavier/ thicker. You will need to get in an expert to look at it. It may be simple or may need some of the structure replaced/ strengthened.