Is it permitted development?

[stressedouttumbleweed]

Our local council no longer gives informal advice...
We have recently moved and the house has an old conservatory (it's approx 4m deep x 7m wide, not quite the full width of the house) which is knackered and freezing and we want to replace it with a proper extension. (it's 20 odd years old, there's no point just replacing the roof which is leaking, the doors and windows are VERY rattly too)
There was PP for the original building, it's around 60cm from boundary on one side, and 2-3 m on the other side. House is detached.
Does it sound likely we can do it under PD? And how much detail needs to go into application for lawful development? Or PP if we need it?
Thanks :)

bumping for you - wish I knew the answer!

I’m not an expert but think that you can build a single storey extension of up to 4m deep under permitted development....
Best to check this website:

www.planningportal.co.uk/permission

Since we decided we needed to do something similar, my husband has been bombarded with calls from what I call IT start ups, rather than building firms or structural engineers/architects. The likes of Resi.
These companies tell you they need to do surveys of your home (they mean photograph and video in depth, like an estate agent) - they call this person a surveyor, but I presume this is a photographer. You pay. They do drawings. But this is of your house as it stands. You pay. Even though you already know what your house looks like. They then do drawings or what it could look like - even though you already know.(But these aren't for building regs as they don't 'specify' anything.) You pay. They then want to apply for planning permission. Which you don't need. But you pay. They then want to do drawings which are actually building specifications that you could pass to a builder an to buildings regs, (at last!) - you pay. You will also finally get to pay for a structural engineer at this point so that you can get proper calcs into your buildings regs plans. All this, when your husband googled structural engineer....
It looks to me like a whole industry has been set up to sell you services that you don't need when you want to turn an old conservatory into a room. I'm holding out for a proper visit from a proper structural engineer and trying to steer DH away from the IT companies!

The council website should give you details of what is allowed under PD?

4m out , single story (storey?) and under 30sqm is what I think it is in England and Wales.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/830643/190910_Tech_Guide_for_publishing.pdf

The above document will take you through step by step as to what can be PD.

You need to be aware that if your are in a Conservation Area or an AONB, there are greater restrictions.

If you want to apply for a certificate of lawfulness, you will need basic drawings clearly showing all the relevant dimensions. You will need drawings for Building Regs anyway, so should be able to get the same person to do both.

Also worth asking your Council if there are any Article 4 directions on your property that remove permitted development rights. My council have done it in a few areas where the properties are quite tightly packed.

Wasn’t it 3m single storey? Has it changed?

You’ll likely need a party wall agreement if you’re excavating that close to the boundary

Also depends on the sqm in relation to your existing house. There should be all the info on the gov website.

@Rummikub

Wasn’t it 3m single storey? Has it changed?

4m if detached, 3m if semi or terrace.

Ah ok
Thank you
Was getting excited then

Thanks everyone.

As far as we can make out on the planning website, it is permitted development. However the original conservatory had planning permission, so I don't know if we need planning to tear it down & rebuild-all of the extension work that has been done on the property (garage conversion, 1st floor extension & conservatory has planning-so do we need it to upgrade the structure)

Do we still need a party wall agreement if we're around 600-800mm from fence (ours) and at least 3-4m from the other house? I know we'll need a build over agreement as there is a drain in there (with manhole ) Builder says we can divert & put new drain down with new manholes-does that sound right?

Under the old Regs, there was a limit on the volume that could be added to a house under permitted development. This no longer exists. It is therefore possible that the original conservatory needed PP, whereas a new replacement structure might not.

Check it against the document I linked to up thread, as the current regs are not straight forward.

The only other thing to check is whether the permitted development rights have been removed, either by way of an Article 4 direction or by condition on the original house permission (only likely if the house was built after 1970s-ish)