Conservatories are fantastic extensions to the home that offer the best of both the indoors and outdoors. However, building a conservatory does involve planning permission and it’s vital that you don’t ignore these regulations or else you could end up with a £5,000 fine and you may be forced to demolish your conservatory if it doesn’t meet the right standards.

The short answer is yes; you do need planning permission. However, if you’re willing to follow the national government regulations on permitted developments, you actually don’t need to seek permission at all.

Don’t worry if it sounds confusing because, in this article, we’re going to tell you everything you need to know about getting planning permission and how you can avoid the disaster of being fined.

What Exactly Does Planning Permission Do For Me?

In short, planning permission is a formal approval from the local authorities for the construction of a building or extension. It’s a legal requirement that you can’t just simply ignore and it’s always best to seek planning permission even if the result is your local authority just saying “go for it, we won’t stop you.”

Planning permission is often needed for anything that isn’t classed as a permitted development. This is essentially something that fits in the national government regulations, so if your conservatory does fit these conditions then you can skip the entire planning permission phase and move straight onto the design and construction.

What Conditions Does My Conservatory Need To Meet?

  • Your conservatory mustn’t be more than half the size of your property’s original structure. The original structure is the size of your house when it was first built excluding any extensions that have been added to it.
  • Your conservatory project mustn’t have a fronting highway with verandas, raised platforms or balconies.
  • You can’t build a conservatory in the front of your home if it paces a pathway or highway unless you get permission first.
  • Side extensions are limited to being single storey and can’t be wider than the width of your house.
  • Extensions can’t go over the width of a detached property by four metres or three metres if you live in a semi-detached home.
  • You can’t build the roof higher than your original home.
  • The waves of your roof can’t be higher than three metres if it’s within two metres of a boundary.

As long as you follow these rules, you don’t actually need to obtain planning permission before you start your build.

What About Building Regulations?

Conservatories are excluded from building regulations (not to be confused with the conditions listed above) but they do apply if your conservatory is:

  • Larger than 30 square metres.
  • Not at ground level.
  • Not glazed and doesn’t have a door linking your house and conservatory.

As long as your conservatory doesn’t fit these three conditions, you don’t need to follow any building regulations or have a study conducted, but you may need to acquire planning permission.

Final Words

So to conclude; building a conservatory doesn’t require permission as long as it fits within the conditions listed in the article. However, you also need to remember that regulations can apply if your conservatory is larger than 30 square metres or doesn’t have a door linking your house and the conservatory.

Keep these points in mind and you’ll easily be able to avoid the hefty £5,000 fine. For more information on conservatories and our professional installation service, call us today on 020 8397 4040.