Pay the extra for planning permission for the loft even though won't be doing it?

[Goingslowlymad123]

Doing a side and rear extension. It's an extra £250 for my architect to do the drawings and submit planning for the loft as part of the overall planning fee.

Shall I pay to have it done as an additional benefit for when we re-sell even though won't be extending into loft.

We won't be staying in this house forever and plan to sell on in 4 years.

Thanks for advice.

OP sure you have confirmed this but does loft even need planning permission? Most don't.

Loft is usually permitted development unless you are altering the roofline or putting in dormer windows or you live in a conservation area or listed building where there may be restrictions.

I wouldn’t bother. A new owner may not be interested and you will also need to find space for a legal staircase which will take up floor space from the first floor. This might make your first floor look small. I rarely see houses offered for sale with loft plans. If it’s bought by a single person it may be of no value to them and any prospective purchaser can look at conversion possibilities before they buy.

OP will any planning permission still be valid in four years time? We've got pp for double storey extension recently, but the build has to start within three years.

"... will any planning permission still be valid in four years time? We've got pp for double storey extension recently, but the build has to start within three years."

If you include the loft conversion within a single Planning application, along with the extension, then the approval is classed as 'implemented' as soon as you start work on any element of it. As @RobbiesRuthie33 has said herself, the build has to start within three years.

Once 'implemented', the approval lives forever and there are no time limits on how long you can take to finish the work (there are mechanisms by which a Local Planning Authority can force someone to complete a partially implemented permission, but there needs to be a reason for them to do so and it is incredibly rare for this to happen even on major projects).

I would therefore say that for the sake of £250, it's well worth doing, as when you come to sell you can do so with the bonus that the loft conversion is already 'pre-approved', which ought to add significant vale to the property (or at least make it appeal to a wider range of prospective purchasers).

Do it.

Thanks for comments.

Essentially, if I build a massive dormer right on the back of the house it will compromise my first floor extension. I can't have a master bedroom with ensuite on the second floor AND loft as the dormer would literally sit on it!

We feel and every agent agrees that it's better to have a well thought out first floor with what will be 4 bedrooms, 2 double, 1 master with en-suite and a large single with a family bathroom over a loft conversion.

House is currently a 3 bed, to turn it into a 4 bed is enough for us and realistically what we can afford.

If we stretch to do the loft, it turns into a 5 bed and I've researched that spending between 40 and 50 to do it would make back 40-50 so not worth it.

However, because of the first floor extension, the propsed loft would be smaller so even more of a reason to not do it.

Do I pay the extra and offer it as extra when selling it (despite it being smallish) or just forget about it.

PP is correct that it will be valid 'forever' as we will have started the work on the rest of the house.

Thank you!

I'd be surprised if doing the plans for the loft gained you any money since there is no money to be made out of converting. Would the ground floor be adequate for a 5 bed house? My gut feeling is that if someone is after a 5 bed (or buying a 4 bed + doing the loft), they'll want a proportionate ground floor. An enxtended 3 bed is unlikely to offer the space.

Where is the staircase for a loft conversation going to go? This usually takes a lot of space from the first floor. We have not converted our loft because we thought the staircase would take up valuable space on the first floor. We already have lots of bedrooms and bathrooms with a good layout, so decided not to compromise that.

If it’s a break even situation regarding build cost and future value, then why do it? More bedrooms isn’t necessarily the holy grail. Neither is a loft conversion. If it is not right for this house, let someone else make the decision after you sell. If you are not worried about £250, get some plans done.