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Hello I want to put in two 2.5m high flat roofed units in my back garden within 2m of the boundary fence of my neighbour. The first is about 5m away from the back of my neighbours house and due to their ground being lower than mine the unit may seem more intrusive. The 2.50m height rule seems to makes no allowance for this but should I consider another rule that covers being overlooked? NB I am going to use if for a family member to sleep in only. The 2nd is further down the garden and is not intrusive but I plan to run a business from it. That would seem to exclude it as incidental use and require me to get planning permission for it regardless of its height. Is that correct? Thanks in advance.

If prior approval is required for the permitted development, then often contamination will be taken into account if the planning officer decides based on the previous land use. Therefore a contamination report would be required. If you need any further assistance with this opportunity, please reach out to us via https://planninggeek.co.uk/contact

It doesn't sound like it complies with permitted development as it isn't all within the curtilage of the dwellinghouse. Therefore would require retrospective planning permission or potentially removal. Your only option is to enquire with the enforcement team at the local authority. They can enforce the situation if necessary.

Further to my last question, if a rear single-story extension is built under permitted development on a semi-detached property, and the roof i.e. tiles and wooden roof (no gutter on the side of the roof) overhangs the boundary line by about 20cm and the side brick wall crosses the boundary line by about 2 cm, can the local authority assist with this problem? I'm a bit confused as it has been done under permitted development.

Hello again Can you please point me in the right direction to understand the detail or requirments regarding contamination on a site while using PD and wanting to satisfy the criteria? For example - if on a site has it has been identified that there's previously contaminated soil (leaks from old industrial tanks) and which there's a plan to remove both old empty tanks and the contaminated soil - will that trip up using PD for the coversion? Have I misunderstood completely? Many thanks for any quick pointers.

This will need retrospective planning permission. I would strongly advise using a planning consultant to assist you. We can do this for you. Please kindly complete the form at https://planninggeek.co.uk/quote and we will revert with a fee proposal asap. Happy to help

That got your attention didn't it? We need to change the use of what was a motorbike parts building on an industrial estate, into a private members club. It has already opened and is trading, but need to convert from commercial to sui generis, for some of you this may sound easy but to us it all sounds like Welsh. The club is aimed at members of the kink, swing and fetish scene. It is far from schools, places of worship or any residential. If this is relatively easy, someone pipe up, scene aware people front of the queue as what the club caters to is NSFW.

Apologies for the delay. We had an error here. Yes planning will be required. if you need assistance with this, please reach out via https://planninggeek.co.uk/contact

sorry for the delay. You can convert the two to C3 under Class MA, but this would then require planning to go to C4. Personally I would probably look to convert straight to an HMO, either as one larger Sui Generis HMO, or two. I would recommend using a planning consultant for this. If you or your client needs help, please reach out via https://planninggeek.co.uk/contact

It must be on your land. There isn't any required distance as far as planning is concerned.

I suspect not, but for the confirmed answer I would recommend speaking to building control.

The height would still be limited to 2.5m if within 2m of the boundary. The rules do not care as to who the other owner is etc., as they look at both current and future owners etc. All the limits can be found at https://gpdo.uk/outbuildings

Hi, That would depend upon the main use normally. If the main reason is to go to play snooker for most, then it is fine. If however, the snooker declines and people go to drink, then the use may have altered to Sui Generis.

My brief research suggests that a snooker hall would fall under the use Class E. However, if the premises is permitting access to non-members to frequent the bar, as an ancillary to the snooker use, would this therefore be seen as mixed use, and thus sui generis? Furthermore is there a period of time that the premises could have been closed for to lose the class provision, including if it closed before 2020 when Class E was introduced? Welcome advice.

HI ALL I AM LOOKING AT EXTENDING AN EXISTING DETACHED GARAGE ALONG THE SAME BUILDING LINE. THE GARAGE WAS ORIGINALLY GIVEN PLANNING PERMISSION IN 1957 ALONG WITH THE BUNGALOW. HOWEVER THE APPROVED BUILDING LINE IS ONLY 300mm FROM THE BOUNDARY OF A PARCEL OF LAND OWNED BY MYSELF ALONG WITH MY WIFE AND MYSELF OWNING THE PROPERTY BORDERING THE SAME LAND/PROPERTY AND PARALLEL TO BOTH. THIS BEING THE CASE IS THE 2 METRE RULE IRRELEVANT IN PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT AS OBVIOUSLY THERE WILL NOT BE ANY OBJECTIONS FROM MY WIFE OR MYSELF. THE PROPOSED EXTENSION WOULD NOT LAY BEYOND THE FRONT OF THE BUNGALOW AND MAXIMUM HEIGHT WOULD 4 metre. ALSO NOT A PLANNING ISSUE BUT BUILDING CONTROL QUESTION IN SO MUCH AS IS THERE ANY STIPULATION AS TO THE SIZE OF ANY OVERHANG ON AN OUTBUILDING OR ONLY JUST ON THE 30m2 AREA ETC. I DO HAVE THE ALTERNATIVE OF FLAT ROOF WHICH WOULD ALLOW CIRCA 3.5 metres IN HEIGHT DUE TO UNEVEN GROUND. NOT PRETTY BUT MORE INTERNAL SPACE. THATS MY LOT FOR NOW SEASONS GREETINGS AND THANKS FOR ANY ADVICE/OPINIONS

I propose to build 2 outbuildings side by side. Each is approx 25 sq metres and would not require building regs approval. At some future date I may want to connect the 2 buildings together. The area of the new ‘connection’ would be about 4 sq metres and the total area of the connected buildings would be about 55 sq metres. Would I need building regs approval to do this?

For a semi-detached property, how far from the party wall does a single story rear extension need to be - including any over-hangs?

The building was originally built as 2 separate dwellings, it was then converted to offices and combined into a single unit. It currently has planning permission for a change of use back to C3 as 10 apartments utilising a single entrance and single staircase (original had 2). My client is seeking to split the property back into two units (utilising the original entrances), and retain the C3 classification. He then wants to use C3 to C4 to convert to 2 separate HMO's. Any help would be appreciated.

Do I need planning permission to demolish a greenhouse apprx 70ft x67ft which I currently use as a garden store/hobby workshop and replace it, on the same foot print, with 2 number 45ft containers. I intend to link them to form a single building approx 45ft x 20ft x maximum height 3.5m. The use will remain the same. Any advice would be appreciated.

I have never heard of a CIL payment being due like this. But then again I haven't searched for it either. You might get someone who knows via our Facebook group - https://facebook.com/groups/planninggeek If I find anything I will let you know.

I have a client who recently had a CLEUD approved for the erection of a new dwelling which was built without permission around 5 years ago - the Council's CIL team are now chasing for CIL payment. My understanding is the the development is not CIL liable, as it is not an application for new build development, rather it is a certificate of lawfulness for existing development. Has anyone ran into this issue, or do you have any guidance? Cheers!

Hi, Two routes. Either you could repair it bit by bit - once removed it has gone. The alternative is to get a certificate of lawfulness, then to seek planning to replace it. I would like to think you have a good chance. If you would like any asisstance with the applications, please complete our quote form at https://planninggeek.co.uk/quote

Hello, we are considering making an offer for a flat in the second floor of an Edwardian house that has been split into two flats, one in the first floor and one in the second. The back garden has been divided longitudinally and one half belongs to each of the flats. The second floor flat has access to its part of the back garden via a stair that starts in a structure that I can best describe as a raised conservatory supported by legs. Looking at this "conservatory" I believe it may have initially been a balcony that was added to the house using support legs to allow access to the garden from the second floor. The door of the second floor kitchen opens to this balcony, and the balcony has stairs going down to the garden. The structure built on top of the balcony seems a bit like a second thought, like someone decided to make use of the balcony space turning it into a conservatory and built one there. The whole structure is made out of wood and is more than 20 years old. If we buy the flat, we would like to replace this whole structure with one that is properly built. I understand that to do this we would need planning permission, because the property the conservatory belongs to is a flat. My problem is that being such a strange structure, I am afraid we may not get the planning permission. Could the council see that the existing structure is unlawful (I honestly doubt it has a building regulations aproval) and therefore treat it like it does not exist, judge the planning permission that we present as a completely new project and deny it? Worse even, could they realize that the "conservatory" does not follow building regulations and ask us to tear it down? This would mean that we would lose a room in the flat and have no access to the garden. I suppose we would be allowed to install a stair of some sort but I would much prefer to keep the conservatory. My question is: what would be the best way to proceed to try to make sure that the planning permission to replace the conservatory (And "balcony" it sits in and stairs to the garden) is approved? I have thought that maybe if we first apply for a Certificate of Lawfulness based on the fact that the whole thing is more than 20 years old, then the planning permission applicatio would be to replace a preexisting structure (No matter how strange) and therefore it would have a bigger chance of being approved. But maybe we don't need to do so many steps because what we are trying to do is precisely tear down the unlawful construction and rebuildit correctly and they would not give us problems. I would appreciate any insights you can provide. Many thanks, Pilar

Do you need planning permission to remove a chimney stack in a conservation area? Three chimneys are to be retained on the dwelling and the one to be removed is to the rear of the property and would not be highly visible from public vantage points to the front of the property

Sorry for the delay in approving. We have an issue with the software. A private members club would normally be Sui Generis.