Does my building need planning permission?
If you’re thinking about adding a new building to your garden or perhaps planning on getting a log cabin as a summer house, then congratulations! A Nordic quality wooden building is a great companion for both practical and leisurely reasons.
But before you get to the buying process head over heels, it would be wise to check if the building you’re planning on getting needs planning permission. What is planning permission, and when do you need it?
Permitted developments - what buildings do not require permission?
First things first - it is possible to construct an outbuilding without getting planning permission. But there is a catch. Your building needs to adhere to a set of conditions that you can find in the planning laws. If your building meets all of them, then you’re free to build an outbuilding without applying for planning permission. So what are these conditions?
- Your property must not be listed.
- The outbuilding has to be located behind your property, not to the side of it.
- The outbuilding can’t cover over 50% of the total area that exists around the original property (from the date the property was built or before 1st July 1948 when the property is older)
- The outbuilding must not be used as self-contained accommodation.
- You need to follow the distance criteria in national parks or any other piece of land designated or protected.
There are also conditions to the size and position of the cabin that must be met to ensure you don’t need planning permission:
- It has to be a one storey building.
- The eaves height cannot exceed 2.5 metres.
- If the roof has a dual pitch (for example, a gable roof), the entire building can’t be higher than 4 meters.
- If it has some other type of roof (for example, a flat roof), the overall height can’t be over 3 meters.
There is an important exception to this. If you don’t have a vast garden, then at least one side of your outbuilding will be within two meters of the property boundary. If this is the case and you can’t achieve at least 2 meters of clearance from the border on all sides of the cabin, then the overall maximum height of your outbuilding cannot exceed 2.5 meters regardless of the roof type.
Check the requirements before placing your order!
Make no mistake; we want to provide the best customer service possible and assist you every step of the way. But that said, it is your responsibility to check whether the government has made any changes to the planning laws before you place your order.
It’s up to you to choose the right cabin for the intended placement in your garden or on your plot - we’ll do our best to help you out if you have any questions.
If you’re still not sure, it’s always a good idea to ask your local planning department advice. We laid down a general guide, but as the laws can differ slightly in different parts of the UK, consulting your local planning officer will surely do no harm.
Why would it be wise to build a permitted development?
Before you scrap the idea of a permitted development due to the size, placement or other restrictions, we advise you to give it a thought. Why? Because a permitted development can speed up the process of getting you outbuilding done and dusted much faster.
- The processing of planning permission applications tends to take time.
- There is no guarantee you will get the permission for the building you want.
If you choose a building that adheres to the conditions laid out above, then you can start building straight away. This means that you have total control over the proceedings and can start doing the building’s groundwork as soon as you’ve chosen the desired cabin.
Check and double-check if your desired cabin meets the requirements, and if you have questions or customisation wishes, let us know!
If you find a product from our range that does not fit into the required measurements but are not too far off, you can ask for modifications. We can slightly alter the overall height of our buildings and the base measurements - or propose a different model from our range. If needed, we can also create a bespoke cabin that meets your needs and the planning requirements.