Conservatory Planning Permission

Having spent over two decades in the conservatory industry I have constructed literally thousands of conservatories, many hundreds of which have required Planning Permission. I have always found it prudent to work with, rather than against the Local Authority Planning Officer, and as a cautious man, I obtain written confirmation from the Planning Officer regarding the status of the project, prior to starting work. I have successfully obtained conservatory planning permission hundreds of times and have yet to have a project declined. This “better safe than sorry” approach to conservatory planning permission, whilst being a bit long winded gives myself and my clients peace of mind. I read recently online of a case involving Sir Cliff Richard being told to tear down an illegally built conservatory, which confirmed to me that my safety first policy really was the right way. Apparently Sir Cliff had put his confidence in a conservatory company who had assured him that conservatories do not need planning permission, and the company had failed to do an individual check on the properties covenants with the relevant planning officer.

In England conservatories are treated exactly the same way as any other extension, regardless of the materials used. Planning permission for a conservatory is often not required with it being considered to be permitted development, not needing an application for planning permission, subject to certain limitations on its size and location.

Recent evolution in conservatory design and improvements in glazing specification mean conservatories are increasingly being used as genuine extra living space and there has been an increase in demand for a more solid feel, with more brick walls. Often one or more elevations of the conservatory are constructed entirely out of brick.

This has lead to a blurring about what actually constitutes a conservatory. For a long time Planning Authorities commonly used the definition of a conservatory to be “a building that has not less than 50% of its sides glazed and not less than 75% of its roof glazed with a translucent material.” Although for Planning Permission purposes this distinction was not especially relevant, it did make a difference when it came to complying with Building Regulations. The Department for Communities and Local Government issued guidance in September 2010 confirming that this old definition not longer applied and consequently a conservatory can legally consist of as high a proportion of solid brick walls as suits the clients requirements.
It is perhaps a good idea at this stage to make it clear that in England, Planning Permission and Building Regulations are two entirely different sets of regulations, even administered by different departments, which in the authors extensive experience usually do not even necessarily communicate with one another.
Having said that Planning Permission for conservatories is not usually required it is highly recommended that every homeowner checks their individual circumstances prior to undertaking the construction of a conservatory because a number of restrictions apply for the conservatory to be considered “permitted development”

• Not more than half the area of land around the “original house” can be covered by extensions.
• The conservatory is not constructed on the principal elevation or side elevation fronting a highway.
• The conservatory must not extend beyond the rear wall of the original house by more than three metres if an attached house or by four metres if a detached house.
• Maximum overall height allowed is four metres.
• Maximum eaves height of an extension within two metres of the boundary of three metres.
• Side extensions to be single storey with maximum height of four metres and width no more than half that of the original house.

In addition to the above standard guidelines for conservatory planning permission there are a number of special cases, which include properties in conservation areas and listed buildings. It is also quite common on some new developments for special covenants to withdraw all development rights and in those cases all conservatories of whatever size and location will require planning permission.

In the authors experience local authority planning officers can be quite helpful and it makes sense to involve them as early as possible in the design stage.

It is possible to obtain the opinion of the planning officer regarding the conservatory planning permission status in writing free of charge, although this is only an informal opinion. If something legally binding is required then the local authority can provide a formal notice of permitted development, at a current charge of £75, which also incurs a delay of up to 8 weeks.

Given the potential downside of building an illegal conservatory then the issue of planning permission requirements should certainly be faced up to, although it is not as daunting as some might think and should definitely not put anyone off what could make a superb investment.