What is permitted development?

Planning permission is no longer required by the majority of homeowners for MOST loft conversions and rear extensions type developments, which has lead to around a quarter of all planning applications being removed from the system.

What Are Permitted Development Rights?

Permitted Development Rights are changes and additions you can make to your home without applying to your local authority for planning permission. They derive from a general planning permission granted not by the local authority but by Parliament. The rights are for houses – so if you live in a flat or maisonette, they do not apply.

If you live in a World Heritage Site, Conservation Area, National Park, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or the Norfolk or Suffolk Broads, permitted development rights are more restricted, so some changes you might want to make to your home will need planning permission when they wouldn’t if you lived elsewhere. Listed buildings are also an exception to these rights.

Do you need planning permission for the change you want to make to your home?

It is always a good idea to consult the local authority to confirm whether you need planning permission or any other form of consent, before undertaking any work. Some recent developments may have had permitted development rights removed as part of a previous planning application. If this is so then it will be listed as a condition on the decision notice. In these cases, all developments that fall into the Classes that have been restricted will require planning permission. If you are unsure as to whether permitted development rights have been removed on your property then please contact us your local authority.

Planning Permission may not be required, however we advise that you apply for a Certificate of Lawful Proposed Use or Development and receive approval before commencing building work commences.

 

How else can we help?

Most build projects require building regulations and structural calculations. Our in house team can produce these and manage the approval process.

Other specialist reports or assessments may be required such as SAP’s (energy efficiency), party wall agreement, listed building, etc.

  • Building Regulation Applications & Submissions - Building regulations make sure that the design and construction of a building is safe. Before you start any building work, you should always check with your local planning authority whether you need building regulations approval.
  • Structural Sections and Elevations -  Are a requirement for building regulations and structural calculations approval. We can manage this whole process for you.
  • Structural Calculations - As part of the Building Regulations application, we submit structural calculations and drawings on your behalf for approval by the local building control department.
  • Roof and Foundation Design- This an area where our innovative designs can save you time and money. Contact your local office for more information.

 

Structural Sections and Elevations

The submission of the building regulations will also include a structural cross-section which enables building control to check the build design is structurally sound.

Please see examples of structural drawings by clicking on the links below.

 

Supporting Documents

 

Structural Calculations

Why are Structural Calculations needed?

Structural calculations are requested by the building control department to accompany a building control application, to show that the structure that you propose to use in your extension/ development is appropriate and will do the job of keeping you and your property structurally sound and safe.

Nearly all jobs will require structural calculations. The calculations are used to determine the size of beams or steels for openings in walls, and size of timbers for roof and floor joists.

The building control officer (from your Local Building Control Department) will come on site at key stages of the build to inspect that what has been specified is actually being built to a satisfactory standard.

Architectural Services Structural Calculation Service

We offer a 5 working day service for structural calculations. These are added to the drawings and submitted for approval by the local building control department as part of the building regulations application.