Planning Service

We can assist you on all aspects of planning, even take on the complete application on your behalf at a fixed fee.

Do I require planning permission for my buildings?

Many kinds of buildings can be built in your garden without the need to apply for planning permission.

You will need to apply for planning permission if any of the following cases apply;

• You want to put up a building which would be nearer to any highway than the nearest part of the original house, unless there would be at least 20m between the new building and any highway
• More than half the area of land around the “original house” would be covered by additions or other buildings.
• Your house is a listed building, and you want to put up a building or structure with a volume of more than 10 cubic metres.
• The building or structure is not to be used for purposes ancillary to domestic use and is to be used instead, for example, for parking a commercial vehicle, running a business or for storing goods in connection with a business.
• You want to put up a building or structure which is more than 3 metres high, or more than 4 metres high if it has a ridged roof. (Measure from the highest ground next to it.)
• You live in a Conservation Area, a National Park, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, or the Broads, and you want to put up a building or structure with a volume of more than 10 cubic metres (though it might be allowable as an extension).

Note: In all cases, if your new building would have a volume over 10 cubic metres and come within 5 metres of the house, you need to be aware that it could be treated as an extension (and its volume deducted) when calculating your entitlement to extend the house (see Section A).Also, if your new extension would bring some existing garden building within 5 metres of the (extended) house, that existing building’s volume could be deducted from your overall volume entitlement for the house, as if it were another extension.

More details about planning can be found in this document.

Planning: A Guide for Householders
Published by The Department for Communities and Local Government (Revised 2006)