Conservatory Planning Permission

Almost half of the conservatories we build need planning approval and around a quarter require building control approval.

If your conservatory needs planning permission, we can take care of it quickly and efficiently. In most circumstances we would not foresee a problem and would plan to commence work on site reasonably soon after planning permission is granted.

Does My Conservatory Need Planning Permission?

The rules changed on October 1st 2008 regarding Permitted Development Rights. These changes mean that your conservatory will be exempt from planning permission if it extends less than four metres from the line of the original dwelling in the case of a detached house, and three metres in a semi-detached or terraced. It also must comply with other criteria such as being no closer to a highway ( a potential issue on corner plots) and that less than half of the total area of land around the original house is built on, this include previous extensions and outbuildings.

Furthermore, additional restrictions apply to the height of the conservatory, its ridge and eaves must be lower than those of the main house, and less than four metre high. The structure must be predominantly made from glass or a translucent material; the roof must have at least 75% glazing and the windows 50%.

However, if your Permitted Development Rights have been removed, none of the above applies and you will definitely require planning permission. This is often the case on newer estates where the removal of the P.D. Rights was a condition of the original planning consent for the estate to be built.

Obviously this is only a brief summary of the rules, if in any doubt consult your local authority or speak to a conservatory specialist.

Conservatory Building regulations

Building control is a separate issue to planning permission. Whilst planning permission deals with the size, design and impact of the structure, building control is concerned with the technical aspects of it.

If your conservatory is less than 30m² in floor area, built at ground level and separated from the house by external quality doors, then it should be exempt from building control.

Can you get building regs for a conservatory?

Yes, and we regularly do, however the ease and expense of doing so varies considerably from site to site and between local authorities.

The most common reason for a conservatory to require building control approval is because the clients wants it to be open to the house. This begin the case, the conservatory has to conform to the same standards as a conventional extension. There are a variety of details than need to be approved by the building inspector, the most important being the overall thermally efficiency of the building.

Thermal Efficiency

Due to concerns about global warming and C02 emissions, modern buildings are required to be exceptionally well insulated. The basic standard for domestic extensions is that the area of glazing is no greater than 25% of the floor area.
Clearly most conservatories would have a far higher portion than this; often we need to produce detailed calculations proving we are offsetting the additional glass area by improvements in energy efficiency elsewhere.

For a start we can use double glazed units of a better quality than normal house windows. Additional improvements may be a simple as specifying thicker insulation in the conservatory floor, or as complex as a complete SAP assessment that take into account the total energy usage of the dwelling before and after the build.

Other Factors