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Planning Permission
From 1 October 2008 adding a conservatory to your home will be considered to be permitted development, not needing an application for planning permission, subject to the following limits and conditions:
*The term "original house" means the house as it was first built or as it stood on 1 July 1948 (if it was built before that date). Although you may not have built an extension to the house, a previous owner may have done so.
Designated land includes national parks and the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, conservation areas and World Heritage Sites. If you have any doubts at all, check with your local authority.
Disclaimer:
This is an introductory guide and is not a definitive source of legal information. You should contact your local planning and building authority before undertaking any work.
- More than half the area of land around the "original house"* would be covered by additions or other buildings.
- No extension forward of the principal elevation or side elevation fronting a highway.
- No extension to be higher than the highest part of the roof.
- Maximum depth of a single-storey rear extension of three metres for an attached house and four metres for a detached house.
- Maximum height of a single-storey rear extension of four metres.
- Maximum depth of a rear extension of more than one storey of three metres including ground floor.
- Maximum eaves height of an extension within two metres of the boundary of three metres.
- Maximum eaves and ridge height of extension no higher than existing house.
- Side extensions to be single storey with maximum height of four metres and width no more than half that of the original house.
- Roof pitch of extensions higher than one storey to match existing house.
- No verandas, balconies or raised platforms.
- On designated land* no permitted development for rear extensions of more than one storey; no cladding of the exterior; no side extensions
*The term "original house" means the house as it was first built or as it stood on 1 July 1948 (if it was built before that date). Although you may not have built an extension to the house, a previous owner may have done so.
Designated land includes national parks and the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, conservation areas and World Heritage Sites. If you have any doubts at all, check with your local authority.
Disclaimer:
This is an introductory guide and is not a definitive source of legal information. You should contact your local planning and building authority before undertaking any work.
Building Regulations
At the present time, most conservatories are not required to have building control approval, subject to various conditions.
This policy has its pros and cons and has been subject to review by central government in recent times. The advantage is less bureaucracy, time and expense, the disadvantage is the fact that many conservatories across the country are built to a poor standard.
The main issue is normally whether or not the extension will be separated from the main building by external doors. Orangeries are more likely to need building control by virtue of their lower proportion of glazing, however this actually makes much it easier to obtain approval.
We regularly build conservatories and orangeries that are subject to building control.
For some reason many conservatory companies avoid applying for building control approval like the plague! It is true that it can add a slight degree of expense and/or delay to the project, but it is normally well worth it. For pure "wow factor" nothing beats having a glazed extension fully open to the house.
Over the years we have built relationships with various building inspectors in the areas we work most often. We are aware of their requirements and they know our standard of workmanship.
In most cases we will take the fast track of submitting a building notice. The application still has to be backed-up with thermal and structural calculations, but this route can save precious time as building control approval is normally sought after planning permission has been obtained.
Exemption
For a conservatory/orangery to be exempt from building regulations, the most important factors are:-
The main issue in getting building control approval is meeting the insulation targets, which have been quite rightly raised in recent years due to concerns over global warming. As most conservatories have a higher ratio of glass to brickwork than the typical dwelling, we have to compensate by using glazing of a higher standard than is required in house windows. Additionally, we would normally use floor and cavity wall insulation of a higher specification.
Depending on the conservatory design (more walls make life easier!) and type of house, the above measures may still not be enough. The next step is to undertake SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure) calculations, a method of determining energy use of the building overall. This may involve additional work such as increased loft insulation in the main building to offset any extra heat losses from the conservatory.
Foundations
The other issue that arises is foundation depth. On all our conservatories, regardless of whether building control approval is required or not, we dig to a minimum of 1000mm (one metre) for footings. The raising of modern standards means that conservatory foundations are often deeper than those on the existing house.
Normally, one metre footings are fine, but it does depend on the site conditions. The main problems we encounter in the local area are the combination of high-shrinkage clay, large trees that consume a lot of water and "brownfield" sites that have all manner of things below the ground. However, if your ground is stone or chalk, or there are no large trees in the vicinity, it is unlikely to be an issue.
When building control become involved, they tend to err hugely on the side of caution. As there is no separate category for conservatories, the foundations have to be suitable for a two-story building. In the past we have had to dig two metre (almost seven feet) foundations for a 600mm (two feet) wall!
The other method is to use mini-piles, steel columns that are driven into the ground about eight metres deep. This method is quicker, cleaner and easier when access is difficult than digging a deep trench for footings, and tends to become more economical when a trench depth of more than 1800mm is required.
This policy has its pros and cons and has been subject to review by central government in recent times. The advantage is less bureaucracy, time and expense, the disadvantage is the fact that many conservatories across the country are built to a poor standard.
The main issue is normally whether or not the extension will be separated from the main building by external doors. Orangeries are more likely to need building control by virtue of their lower proportion of glazing, however this actually makes much it easier to obtain approval.
We regularly build conservatories and orangeries that are subject to building control.
For some reason many conservatory companies avoid applying for building control approval like the plague! It is true that it can add a slight degree of expense and/or delay to the project, but it is normally well worth it. For pure "wow factor" nothing beats having a glazed extension fully open to the house.
Over the years we have built relationships with various building inspectors in the areas we work most often. We are aware of their requirements and they know our standard of workmanship.
In most cases we will take the fast track of submitting a building notice. The application still has to be backed-up with thermal and structural calculations, but this route can save precious time as building control approval is normally sought after planning permission has been obtained.
Exemption
For a conservatory/orangery to be exempt from building regulations, the most important factors are:-
- The conservatory must be less than 30mē in floor area
- The conservatory must be built at ground level
- At least 50% of the walls and 75% of the roof must be a glazed or translucent material
- The conservatory should be separated from the house by doors of external quality
- Glazing and electrical installations should conform to current safety regulations
The main issue in getting building control approval is meeting the insulation targets, which have been quite rightly raised in recent years due to concerns over global warming. As most conservatories have a higher ratio of glass to brickwork than the typical dwelling, we have to compensate by using glazing of a higher standard than is required in house windows. Additionally, we would normally use floor and cavity wall insulation of a higher specification.
Depending on the conservatory design (more walls make life easier!) and type of house, the above measures may still not be enough. The next step is to undertake SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure) calculations, a method of determining energy use of the building overall. This may involve additional work such as increased loft insulation in the main building to offset any extra heat losses from the conservatory.
Foundations
The other issue that arises is foundation depth. On all our conservatories, regardless of whether building control approval is required or not, we dig to a minimum of 1000mm (one metre) for footings. The raising of modern standards means that conservatory foundations are often deeper than those on the existing house.
Normally, one metre footings are fine, but it does depend on the site conditions. The main problems we encounter in the local area are the combination of high-shrinkage clay, large trees that consume a lot of water and "brownfield" sites that have all manner of things below the ground. However, if your ground is stone or chalk, or there are no large trees in the vicinity, it is unlikely to be an issue.
When building control become involved, they tend to err hugely on the side of caution. As there is no separate category for conservatories, the foundations have to be suitable for a two-story building. In the past we have had to dig two metre (almost seven feet) foundations for a 600mm (two feet) wall!
The other method is to use mini-piles, steel columns that are driven into the ground about eight metres deep. This method is quicker, cleaner and easier when access is difficult than digging a deep trench for footings, and tends to become more economical when a trench depth of more than 1800mm is required.
