A garden room made with one of our SIPs extension kits will add to your quality of life and increase the value of your property. Still, for peace of mind, you should check planning rules with your local council to see if you need garden room planning permission before starting construction.

Our SIPs extension kits can create a garden office, a summer house or extra accommodation for your home. Although you may think that your garden room is a private affair, being just a small structure within the boundary of your own property, your local council and your neighbours may see things differently.

Many countries, including the UK, have development rules that require homeowners to make a planning permission application before constructing garden buildings. Failure to commit to these requirements for your SIPs project could be a costly mistake.

Permitted Development Rights for Garden Rooms

Most garden rooms are outbuildings that usually fall within a homeowner’s permitted development rights for their land.

However, there are exceptions to this rule.

You may not have permitted development rights if your main property is a listed building.
Homeowners lucky enough to live in conservation areas, world heritage sites, national parks, or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty do not have the same development rights as others. They should seek specialist advice before starting any construction or landscaping projects in their garden.
Owners of maisonettes and flats do not have development rights permitting them to build a garden building.

Permitted development rules are the same in England and Wales and throughout the UK.

Permitted development rules for home offices

Our SIPs extension kits are ideal for constructing home offices as their superior insulation ensures they are cosy and quiet all year round. However, if you plan to use your garden outbuilding for work, you should check if it will affect your need for planning permission.

Permitted development rules include outbuildings which have ‘incidental use’. There should be no issues if you plan to work alone on your computer in your garden room. However, if you are running a business that requires customers or clients to visit you at home – a beauty business, for example, that is a different matter. Such activities may cause extra noise and put pressure on local parking. In this case, your local council would expect a planning application to be submitted.

Size and Location of Your Garden Room

SIPs constructions are pre-fabricated to customer specifications in various sizes and shapes and are so versatile that they allow the building of almost any garden room design. However, even within a permitted development, some restrictions exist on what you can construct in your garden.

Your garden room design will still need to fulfil the following size and location criteria to avoid the need for planning permission.

The proposed garden building must not be at the front of your house. This restriction applies to the elevation in front of your dwelling on 1 July 1948, so if substantial changes have been made since that date, you must be aware of them.
A homeowner is not permitted to build extensions, sheds and outbuildings covering more than 50% of the total land area around their property. This sum includes the area of the garden outbuilding you are planning and relates to the land area as it was on 1 July 1948.
Your garden room can only be a single storey with an eaves height of no more than 3 metres.
Location and proximity to neighbours are important and if your garden outbuilding project is 2 metres or less from the boundary of your property, then the maximum height is 2.5 metres.
Your design must not include a balcony, veranda or raised platform.
It isn’t self-contained living accommodation.

To ensure compliance with permitted planning regulations, it is important to check with local authorities or consult a professional before constructing a garden room.

Applying for Planning Permission

If you need planning permission, you should apply to your local authority planning office, which is part of your local council. You must complete paperwork about your proposed project, describing its size, design, location, purpose and construction materials.

The Extension Kitz team has great experience in applying for planning permission and will be happy to help you with this important stage of the construction process.

CONTACT THE TEAM TODAY FOR ADVICE

How long will I have to wait for planning permission?

The average waiting time for garden room planning permission approval is less than 4 weeks, but of course, this will depend on the level of work experienced at your local planning office.

Is my planning permission application likely to be approved?

Our research suggests that over 95% of garden room constructions with proper planning permission are approved and that approximately 7 out of 10 applications for garden room planning permission are granted without any complications.

About Extension Kitz

We are a family-run business and are the only UK manufacturer and supplier of Structurally Insulated Panels or SIPs that are ideal for constructing garden rooms for all purposes. We can help you with all aspects of your project, from design to construction.

How to find us

Cemetery Works
Cemetery Road
Radcliffe
Greater Manchester M26 4FT

Contact details

Email: sales@extensionkitz.co.uk

Tel: 0330 166 0877

Garden Room Planning Permission: A Complete Guide for Homeowners