Outbuildings in conservation area - permitted development?

[Perennis]

I appreciate this is a technical question but it's possible some of you might know the answer. I've asked an architect friend too but they haven't got back to me yet.

Can I build an outbuilding, specifically a swimming pool and building/cover, in a conservation area under permitted development rights? So without planning permission.

I think it's a Class E structure and so as long as it meets the size restrictions it's permitted. I think the conservation area rules mean it needs to be behind the house but that seems to be it. I don't think the council has removed this sort of PD rights in the conservation area.

It's in the green belt, but I think this makes no difference as it's within the curtilage of a domestic building.

Thanks in advance if you can help!

So we have just applied for exactly this (also hoping for a pool house!) in a green belt , Aonb and applied under certificate of Lawfullness. Still yet to be decided…

but before we applied we did consult a local planning expert and worked with a local architect and as far as they are concerned, the permitted development rights have not been removed from our property so as long as we are within the rules as written below, there should be no reason to reject it. I guess you’ll have to see if the house you want to buy has had permitted development rights removed or not.

The outline states:

The proposal meets the requirements of The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order under Schedule 2, Part 1, Class E
E (a) The out building is designed for the enjoyment of the original dwellinghouse.
E.1 (b) The total area of ground covered by buildings, enclosures and containers within the curtilage (other than the original dwellinghouse) does not exceed
50% of the original curtilage.
(c)The proposal does not exceed any principle elevation.
(d)The proposal is a single storey in height.
(e)The height of the building does not exceed 4m. (The proposed building is situated 2m away from any boundary) (f)The height of the eaves does not exceed 2.5m
E.2 Being within an AONB the proposal is situated no further than 20 meters from the original dwellinghouse. E.3 The proposal sits within the the curtilage of the dwellinghouse and does not exceed any side elevation.

We live in a conservation area and there is a Conservation Officer who is usually involved in any decisions, permitted development here means practically nothing as the Conservation part overrules it. Its obviously different in different areas but if you can find out who it is you can often have a sensible conversation with them and get a better understanding of what will be allowed in this specific case.

Planner here - I’d say you are pretty much bang on. Provided there is not an article 4 direction restricting Class E your specific area then what you have described meets PD regs.
Any restrictions on greenbelt development and/or local plan policy that guides development in a conservation area is only relevant if you need planning permission from the LPA which you don’t.
As someone else has suggested you could apply for a Certificate of proposed lawful development (£103) which is formal confirmation that your proposals fall under the permitted development rights. You are not obliged to but it’ll save you a few headaches when you sell your property or if any neighbours complain

Sorry early morning typo “an article 4 direction restricting Class E in your specific area”

I am a planner and your description of the rules etc is absolutely correct. Pd rights can only be removed by an article 4 direction covering all or part of a conservation area or they can be removed as a condition of the permission for the original house. They can also be removed due to a special designation but that will be spelled out in the relevant class as it is in class E, where it restricts development in relation to article 2(3) land ie a conservation area. For the purposes of the gpdo the green belt is not a special designation (which is madness but there you are).

The 30% argument ONLY kicks in if you need planning permission.

You can apply for a certificate of lawful proposed development and lots of people simply so that they can get a decision from the council that the building does or does not need permission. Helps with selling the house later and also if you were to get an enforcement complaint.

A neighbourhood plan cannot restrict pd rights but can be restrictive if you need to apply for permission.

An update, which may be useful for others in this situation.

At the same time as writing this thread I was corresponding with the council's planning enquiry service about the planning situation, and was told on 3 occasions that there could be no further development on the site (as it's in green belt and has already been extended more than 30%).

I read the legislation and guidance and wasn't sure this was correct.

My reading of the legislation was that the conservation rules and neighbourhood plans restricting development in the green belt do not NOT trump permitted development rights.

I engaged a planning consultant on the point. He confirmed houses in green belt will have permitted development rights as standard. Houses in conservation areas also have permitted development rights but these are often a bit more limited.

Also, after my last email to the council setting out the legislation and my interpretation of it in tedious detail, it was escalated to a team leader who confirmed that the site does have permitted development rights and apologised for any confusion.

I can't tell whether the council's initial responses were a deliberate attempt to discourage development or a training issue. Either way it wasn't great. I anticipate most people would have assumed the council planning enquiry service gave accurate advice and left it at that. Turns out being a lawyer (lovely as it is) is incredibally helpful.

Thanks to those of you who are planners for responding. Obviously you can't rely on random people on mumsnet for proper advice but it made me feel like I wasn't going mad when dealing with the council.