Planning - Conservatories

Whilst most projects, including conservatories & porches, do NOT require formal planning approval, it is important to check first.

Our service is your first port of call and advice can be obtained from our Head Office staff or from your assigned Project Manager.

In cases of doubt, we are often able to carry out a "Pre-Planning Enquiry" through your local Planning Department at no cost. This may involve an informal discussion with a Planning Officer, sometimes a submission of an outline drawing at no cost, or even a low-key visit from a local Planning Officer.

If it is established that Planning Permission IS required, we are able to put you in touch with an appropriate Architect or Architectural Technician, who will be able to offer a cost-assessment and complete any necessary drawings and applications on your behalf. You are, of course, under no obligation to use any recommended Professional and you may use your own nominated Architect for any project you wish us to manage.

Most Conservatory projects managed by the service, not subject to formal Planning Permission, include the production of scaled drawings and elevations. These computer-generated plans are used to illustrate the proposed building to the customer and prospective builders. Plans are either generated by ourselves of by quoting companies and are provided free of charge.

Planning Tips

Drawings associated with building work, however big or small the project should be clear and easy to understand. Most builders and architects will ensure that the drawings fall into three categories to ensure clarity, and to avoid confusion. Normally site plans are one group, floor, elevation and sections are another, with assembly and component drawings the third group.  It is not normal to find a mixture of these drawings on one sheet, except occasionally for small projects.

Site or location plans

These are used to show mains services, roads and paths, property boundaries and 'site setting-out' positions for the buildings. Another important piece of information that is shown on all site plans is the site levels for buildings, drains and roads. These will relate to a local datum level usually found on a church or permanent building in the locality. No site plan should be drawn to a scale any less than 1:2500.

Elevation drawings

The role of these drawings is to explain the external aspect from all sides of a proposed building. It will show the style of masonry, windows and doors, roof and any other features that will be applicable for planning purposes. These should be drawn to a scale no less than 1:100.

Floor plans

These denote or identify room dimensions; position of doorways and windows, location of services entering the building and services within the building such as electrics and plumbing. Drawn to the scale of 1:100 or larger.

Section drawings

These are drawings that identify particular areas of a building. They can be expressed horizontally or vertically through a building's structure to highlight special construction details or structural construction techniques. They should be drawn to a scale no smaller than 1:50.

Conservatories - Exclusions to Planning Permission

In England and Wales it is not usually necessary to obtain planning permission for conservatories, provided that the area does not exceed the 'permitted development' limit for your property, which is 50 to 70m cubed, depending on the area you live.

It should be noted that if you have extended the property in the past you might have used some of your 'permitted development' allowance. In addition to this, some areas have had the 'permitted development' rights removed, which doesn't necessarily mean planning permission will not be granted but may require a formal planning application. Other obvious restrictions include: your property being situated within a conservation area or your property being a listed building.

Building Control Rules

Most conservatories will be classed as an 'exempt building' under the 1991 Building Regulations act (as amended). The criteria needed to classify as an 'exempt building' is as follows:

• The conservatory is sited at ground level and is single storey.
• Have at least 75% of its roof and 50% of its walls made of translucent materials.
• The overall floor area will not exceed 32m².
• All glass areas comply with Building Regulation Part N Schedule 1.
• The conservatory will be permanently separated from the main dwelling by the means of an external door, and will not be forming or increasing opening from the existing building. (As amended June 2000).
• The conservatory will not be permanently heated/ e.g. wet/radiators. Electric heaters are allowed.
• The conservatory will not be used as a kitchen/sleeping area and will not contain any drainage facilities such as sink/wc.

Good Practice:

Should Planning Permission or Building Regulations Approval not be necessary for the conservatory, consideration of the following points is sensible:

• It is advisable when planning your conservatory to ensure that ladder access is still possible to at least one fire escape window on the top floor.
• As a matter of courtesy, we advise you consult your neighbours before installing your conservatory in order to maintain friendly relations. This is particularly prudent when a 'Party Wall' is required or access to the neighbouring garden is needed for installation.
• If the conservatory is close to a balanced flue, the Gas Safety Regulations (1984) SI/1984 No. 1358 may be relevant and the flue may have to be re-sited. If the flue is to be covered by the conservatory, then the flue will have to be re-sited to discharge to external air.
• In the event that any part of the conservatory structure, including guttering, should overhang the boundary line and therefore impede on the neighbouring property, then it is compulsory that Planning Certificate B be issued to the neighbour.
• If, for whatever reason, your conservatory does require Building Regulation Approval, then certain steps have to be taken to meet the 'Heat Loss' or 'U Values' required. This would normally mean upgrading to 'Pilkington K Glass' and increasing the brick cavity size. However, due to the vast glass area within a conservatory, it is not always straightforward to bring conservatories up to the required standards.

These notes are to be used as a guide only, for further clarification on either planning or building control issues we suggest contacting your local Planning/Building Control Authority.

Information can be found at www.planningportal.gov.uk