PLANNING PERMISSION AND BUILDING REGULATIONS

The following is based upon our understanding of the law relating to the above in the UK at the time of going to print. We do emphasise MOST STRONGLY that you should check with your local Planning Authority and local Building Control Department to ensure that you can build without needing any special permission. Be careful if you think you may live in a conservation area or other protected area.  

Under present legislation a conservatory attached to the house is classed as a home extension under the Town and Country Planning Act and subject to certain rules you may need to apply for planning permission.

You will NOT need to apply if:- 

The conservatory does not increase the overall volume of the original house by whichever is the greater of the following:- (a) 70 cubic metres or (b) 15% of the volume of the original house up to a maximum of 115 cubic metres . These rules apply to detached or semi-detached houses. If yours is a terrace or end of terrace house the permitted size allowance is whichever is greater of the following:- (a) 50 cubic metres or (b) 10% of the volume of the original house up to a maximum of 115 cubic metres. The wording ‘original house’ means the house as first built or as it stood on 1 st July 1948 if built before then. If extensions have already been built then those extensions count against the allowance.

Slightly different calculations apply in Scotland

No part of the conservatory projects further forward than the existing front wall of the house facing onto a highway.

No part of the conservatory is higher than the highest point of the existing house roof

No part of the conservatory which comes within 2 metres of your property boundary is more than 4 metres above ground.

The conservatory will not result in more than half of the original garden area of the property being covered

The conservatory is not to be used for occupation as a separate and independent dwelling.

Complicated as these rules may seem, in essence they should create no problems and in the vast majority of cases no planning permission would be required for a Rymes Improvements conservatory, unless your home has already been extended and at least part of the size allowance used up.

We repeat that there are a few other limitations such as local bye-laws, work on listed buildings or in conservation areas which may affect exemption. We do recommend that you check with your local Planning Authority before building, even though based on the above, you feel that your project is exempt.

Under current Building Regulations conservatories (defined as ground floor extensions with transparent or translucent roofs) are exempt from any controls under these regulations provided that the floor area does not exceed 30m2.

Rymes Improvements Conservatories up to this size (30m2) can therefore normally be built without any Building Regulations approval or Building Warrants in England and Wales. A building warrant will be required in Scotland if your conservatory floor area exceeds 8m2.

The buildings have however been designed with safety, strength and stability in mind and it is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that you follow all installation instructions carefully

You can download the overview of these conservatories in a pdf file here.