What can stop Permitted Development - Oct. 1st 2008.

As permitted Development primarily only applies to dwellings (not flats) homeowners should be aware that even if their extension appears to fall within the descriptions of the latest PD criteria, your particular site may have some unique situations that would prevent you from implementing your extension or alterations scheme under permitted development. 

Here is a list of some typical situations that I have come across in the past that have prevented home owners from building an extension without Planning Permission:-

REMOVAL OF PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS:-

As a guide, the newer the property, the more likely it is that the original Planning Consent for the site / estate would have a condition on the approval that removed some or all of the properties Development rights.  It has been our experience that most homeowners have never seen the original Planning Permission or have a copy nor know where to obtain one from.  This is potentially the biggest trip up to implementing your PD rights and should always be your first check at the Council Planning Records to view the original or subsequent Planning approvals for your property.

YOUR PROPERTY IS WITHIN ARTICLE 1(5) LAND:-

Different & more restrictive PD criteria is applied when your property is within a Conservation Area, an AONB or a National Park.  Again double check this issue.  Fortunately Green Belt appears to have been excluded as a controlling influence over PD rights.

YOUR PROPERTY IS A LISTED BUILDING:-

Most people or homeowners would normally know this fact.  You will need formal Planning Permission for virtually everything you intend completing to a listed building.

YOUR FRONT ELEVATION IS NOT YOUR PRINCIPLE ELEVATION:-

Strange one this but the wording has now shifted away from orientating the building using the term front elevation.  Principle elevation is now used which is some cases may not be the front elevation as you would envisage.  Confusion would normally occur in this aspect when a property is on a large plot served by a long drive that may not have an obvious road frontage.  Similarly, a corner plot in an urban setting could cause similar confusion.  Therefore assess your property logically.  Which aspect of the property is the most dominant that would be visible from the road for example.  That elevation might not even have the front door.

SLOPING GROUND LEVELS:-

This could cause conflict with eaves or ridge heights for example.  There is an attempt within the Articles of Citation section of the GPDO that infers that for an uneven ground level the height will be taken from the highest adjoining natural ground level point.  Again the use of strange wording can create unclear and inconsistent interpretations from various Councils when assessing critical heights for sloping sites.

YOUR PROPERTY IS NOT CLASSIFIED AS A SINGLE DWELLING HOME:-

Perhaps you are part of a property that is classified by the Council as a HMO (a home in multiple occupation) such as bed sits.  Even if you purchased a HMO and now using it as a single dwelling unit, it previous planning history may still cloud implementing your PD rights.

THE LAND FOR THE EXTENSION IS NOT WITHIN THE CLEARLY DEFINED RESIDENTIAL CURTILAGE:-

Perhaps your property purchased a separate parcel of land that was say a paddock or agricultural land & your extension will now build into this area.  If the land is not classed as residential curtilage then is cannot be built under the sites PD allowances.

YOUR EXTENSION SCHEME OVERHANGS A BOUNDARY:-

It is critical that no part of the extension overhangs of encroaches over a boundary including the eaves & foundation footings.

AN IRATE NEIGHBOUR COMPLAINING TO THE COUNCIL:-

This happens quite a lot as neighbours may not have not been prior informed of the works by the council or the owners and their first port of call is usually the Planning Department who send down their Enforcement Officer who will assess the situation for its legality.  This reason alone is enough of a fear in my opinion that all homeowners intending to build anything under the site permitted development allowances should always have drawings prepared to apply for and obtain a Certificate of Lawful development.