Planning permission is a crucial step in building or making changes to a property. It helps prevent inappropriate developments and is required for new dwellings or extensive changes to existing ones. National and local policies guide decisions on granting permission. While it may seem like a daunting, it is necessary for extending a house, building an office in the garden, or constructing a new house. Small-scale projects may be exempt from planning permission if they fall within specific limits called Permitted Development. Understanding the planning system is essential for any property owner.
To submit a planning application you will need to provide five copies of application forms, a signed ownership certificate, a location plan, a block plan, elevations of both the existing and proposed sites (even if you're demolishing and rebuilding the house), a Design and Access Statement, and drainage information. The Design and Access Statement is not usually required for householder applications, but it can be useful in some instances. Additionally, you will need to pay the correct fee. These statements have to accompany all planning applications besides householder building works in unprotected areas and changes of use. Statements are used to justify a proposal’s design.
Your Local Planning Authority may not accept planning drawings unless they meet certain requirements, including containing enough details of the proposal and the site, and being at a recognisable metric scale.
You're required to submit the following as part of your planning application:
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Scaled at a metric of 1:1250 or 1:2500, but also preferably to A4 size called a location plan.
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Shows all buildings and roads on land adjoining the site
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Application site and any land required for access for the build must be outlined or shaded in red
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Any other land adjacent you own or control outlined or shaded in blue
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A closer look at the site for the development, at a scale of 1:100, 1:200 or 1:500 called a block plan.
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Show the development with reference to site boundaries and other buildings, with measurements
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Include details of buildings, roads, footpaths, public rights of way and trees, unless not affected by the development
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Include hard surfacing amount and type, and treatments for boundary walls or fences
Elevations and Floor Plans
If you're working with an architect or design and build company, they should have experience in producing these drawings; however, if the project is self-designed or working with a contractor, you may have to engage the help of an external source to produce the plans
Elevations show what each side of the building will look like, indicating the size and type of windows and doors and the external building materials. Where the planning application is for an extension, this part should be highlighted.
The floor plans are a birds eye view of the property, outlining the layout and dimensions of the proposed project. When adding an extension, this should be highlighted, and you only need to include the existing building floorplan of the floor the extension is connected to (ie. ground floor for a single storey extension).
When Will I Need Planning Permission for an Extension?
Reasons an extension might not be possible under Permitted Development include (but aren't limited to):For detached properties, single storey extensions over 4 metres from the rear of your house will require planning permission, while this is over 3 metres for terraced and semi-detached houses. However, larger extension of 8 metres for detached houses and 6 metres for semi-detached houses can be built under Prior Approval. Different rules also apply for maisonettes and ground floor flats. The extension is over half the area of the land of the original house (as it stood as of 1948)The materials used are visually different from the rest of the house. A two-storey extension is closer than 7 metres to the boundary. The extension is forward of the principal or side elevation facing onto a highwayThe maximum height of your single storey extension is more than 4 metres, or is higher than the highest part of the roof. You're looking to include a balcony or veranda in the design
