Planning Permission Information
Planning permission may not be something you might consider when putting up a small shed. There are however very specific and detailed national guidelines for when you do and do not need to apply for planning permission for many types of external structure.
The following link is to the full HMG document relating to situations that require planning permission. We include below some of the most relevant clauses.
Planning Permission Considerations
With the expansion of garden rooms and home offices as an extension of home working, living or recreational space, lesser known planning considerations should be understood when designing your structure.
Since EasyBases could be installed in such a way as to exceed the nationally set 300mm limit for raised external structures it is worth being aware of where you may or may not be required to apply for planning permission, or adjust your designs.
This height limit relates not only to external buildings but also decking installations. One reason we refer to ‘external structures’ a lot in our material.
Local authorities may not consider the guidance provided in regards to height of raised structures, even on sloping ground, so while it is useful to know what the national ‘Permitted Development Rights’ state, we cannot assure you that your local authority may not have a differing interpretation of ‘ground level’.
HMG Guidance Excerpts
The most relevant parts are appended below to save you scanning the whole document or for keywords to search by.
From the definitions/General Issues section at the start;
Raised: in relation to a platform means a platform with a height greater than 0.3 metres.
“Height: references to height (for example, the heights of the eaves on a house extension) is the height measured from ground level. (Note, ground level is the surface of the ground immediately adjacent to the building in question, and would not include any addition laid on top of the ground such as decking. Where ground level is not uniform (for example if the ground is sloping), then the ground level is the highest part of the surface of the ground next to the building.)”
From the Class E: buildings etc section;
“the height of the building, enclosure or container would exceed:
(i) 4 metres in the case of a building with a dual-pitched roof,
(ii) 2.5 metres in the case of a building, enclosure or container within 2 metres of the boundary of the curtilage of the dwellinghouse, or
(iii) 3 metres in any other case
The height of the building, enclosure or container should be measured from the highest ground level immediately adjacent to the building, enclosure, or container to its highest point.
The height limit on a ‘dual-pitched roof’ of 4 metres should also be applied to buildings that have ‘hipped’ roofs (slopes on all four sides).
If any part of the building, container or enclosure is within 2 metres of the boundary of the curtilage of the house, then the height limit for the total development is restricted to 2.5 metres if it is to be permitted development.
(f) the height of the eaves of the building would exceed 2.5 metres”
From the same section, relating to platforms;
(h) it would include the construction or provision of a verandah, balcony or raised platform
Verandahs, balconies and raised platforms are not permitted development under Class E.
‘Verandah’ and ‘balcony’ can be understood as set out in section A (k). A raised platform is defined in the General issues section of this document, as any platform that has a height of more than 0.3 metres. Garden decking will therefore be permitted development under Class E subject to it not exceeding this 0.3m height limit and subject to the other limits and conditions under this Class.