Planning permission for wooden garage ......... should I ask

[Abikins]

Guys advise needed please, I have recently bought a house and am planning on (was part of the idea of buying it)having one of those wood cabin double garages for the cars, not the normal cheap garden shed like things but 70mm thick timber.

I have planned the concrete slab etc and as it is a wooden structure below a set size I dont need planning permission.

Small oversight (huge c*ck up really) I understand that planning permission IS needed if the garage is at the front of the house i.e. nearer than the house or any part of it to the road.

I have space to go at the rear of the house but this will cost me approx 3 times as much in concrete etc and will mean half the property concreted !!

Shall I just put the garage at the front which will not be able to be seen from the road by anyone and hope that no one complains or try and get funds to put at the rear of the property ?

It is a private road but not sure if this makes any odds council wise.

I dont want to ask the council as this will alert them, and stop me from pleading ignorance if I need too.

I am tempted to put out front and hope the neighbors dont complain, (and maybe put a base in only at rear of house in case) it can be resited at any time but would require a good weekends work to move it.

Any ideas please .....

Regards

[Kuroblack350]

Best bet is to visit the council The planning officer can help you out, and it's worth having them on side.

Otherwise, you run the risk of building it, and then tearing it down, which is a complete waste of effort. And money

[merc_man]

Great if no one complains eh! But, oh, hang on, what are you going to do when you come to sell the house and they want all the planning documents for the garage?

Seek advice from your planning office or it'll all end in tears.

[marshalla]

And talk to your neighbours about your plans BEFORE you start any process. Better to know if they'll object before you spend money.

[plug]

Allways best to ask first, the link below is fromm the govements planning portal, but every council will be slightly different.
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/genpub/en...

Edited by plug on Tuesday 27th May 17:17

[sniff petrol]

I've built a large garage sized shed (about 2.7m by 5m) at the bottom of my garden about 8 months ago. There's no car access but it's handy as I have 2 canoes as well as all the other crap you need.

It's in the far corner of the garden an backs onto 2 neighbours properties but I didn't seek PP, just asked the neighbours before starting work (more of an apology to the noise than seeking their permission and just making them aware of what was going on) No one's complained about it as it looks a lot better than the 2 crappy sheds and canoes covered with a tarpaulin that were in it's place before.

[MitchT]

We want to put a garage in the same position, relative to the house, as the OP. The difference is we already have one there - just a knackered old thing which needs replacing... and yes, we still have to have planning permission! Basically, because of the position, you have to have permission to build there even if you're building something to replace an existing structure. I doubt the neighbours would be bothered if we just did it, but we simply don't have the money to chance doing it and then having to tear it down.

The planning officer who came to see us was extremely unhelpful - He basically said don't even bother trying and also told us the drawings we'd provided were crap, but not what was wrong with them or how to go abut getting better ones done. His attitude was that it was too much like hard work for him to take our proposal back to the planning office. I wouldn't mind but the only reason we want a garage is to protect the car from vandals. The European Constitution for Human Rights states that I have a right to 'peaceful enjoyment of possessions' and clearly this right is being breached by the planning department if they obstruct any attempt on my part to protect my property from criminals. They are also effectively (if not legally) an accessory to vandalism. I'm not sure what the European Court of Human Rights would have to say about this, but I'm gradually reaching the point of wanting to test the theory.

[sniff petrol]

MitchT said:

Stuff

How's about building a new garage just outside your old one, with the old one still intact. that way you could say that you've just renovated the old one. Once they're all happy you're free to knock down the original garage from inside.

[Balmoral Green]

First off I would say complete a permitted development rights questionnaire, this is a fairly simple form and is to find out, definitively, whether it needs planning permission or not. They will write back to you and tell you yes or no, so always a worthwhile bit of paper to have regardless of the answer.

If it does need planning permission, then apply for it, it's generally not a problem, just a formality, I do several a year on behalf of clients, for small stuff like conservatories, large porches etc, the stuff they really couldn't care less about. Sheds, garages etc shouldn't be much different.

[MitchT]

sniff petrol said:

How's about building a new garage just outside your old one, with the old one still intact. that way you could say that you've just renovated the old one. Once they're all happy you're free to knock down the original garage from inside.

That's an interesting idea. I could remove all of the asbestos cement panels from the old one and any part of the wooden frame that's totally past it, and then build a totally new wooden frame to incorporate some parts of the old one and then clad the outside with some new panels of whatever material is appropriate. Garage restored, not replaced!

Sorry for hijacking the OP's thread!

[blueyes]

MitchT said:

asbestos cement panels

The cost of removing your garage just increased by a zillion quid.

[Emeye]

blueyes said:

MitchT said:

asbestos cement panels

The cost of removing your garage just increased by a zillion quid.

IIRC, it doesn't increase the cost significantly - someone answered this for me before - you can do it yourself and then get them disposed of safely - my girlfriends sister did it with no major hassle and fully within regulations.

[blueyes]

Emeye said:

blueyes said:

MitchT said:

asbestos cement panels

The cost of removing your garage just increased by a zillion quid.

IIRC, it doesn't increase the cost significantly - someone answered this for me before - you can do it yourself and then get them disposed of safely - my girlfriends sister did it with no major hassle and fully within regulations.

He's right you know!

http://www.york.gov.uk/environment/Pollution/Asbes...

[eldar]

Kuroblack350 said:

Best bet is to visit the council The planning officer can help you out, and it's worth having them on side.

Otherwise, you run the risk of building it, and then tearing it down, which is a complete waste of effort. And money

True, you may not need any planning permission, depending on size and location... The planning dept will give you advice, but you need to ask open questions like 'how big couple it be without planning permission' and the like.

Rules vary from council to council, so your local planner is the best start.

[MitchT]

blueyes said:

MitchT said:

asbestos cement panels

The cost of removing your garage just increased by a zillion quid.

I've already looked into the asbestos issue in great detail - I had a lot of help from a fellow PHer. I've had two separate quotes of £350 to dismantle it and remove it in its entirety, disposing of it in the appropriate manner, or I can dismantle it myself and wrap-up the panels and then dispose of them free of charge at the local asbestos disposal facility with the help of someone with an appropriate vehicle - I know such a person and he has already confirmed that payment in beers will be adequate, so the asbestos element really isn't a disaster. I just need to establish if leaving part of the existing wooden structure will effectively constitute a refurbishment and thus negate the need for planning permission.

[Balmoral Green]

eldar said:

Rules vary from council to council

Yes, but technically this is not so, the planning/building regulations are Nationally prescribed by central government. Individual authorities can interpret them to suit themselves sometimes, and insist on conditions that are not in the actual planning or building regulations, if you get refused on something that is a local stipulation, if you appeal it, you will nearly always win. I won one a few years back under just such circumstances.

If you looked on individual local councils websites, they would often say different things on the same subject, but a lot of them now link direct to the central governments planning portal, and the local anomalies are now disappearing.

[plug]

Do your own research on the planning as well as asking the local planning officer.
During the building of my garage someone complained about it, I did not need plannig as already had asked, only I didn't get it in writing. A officer let herself into the back garden while I was at work and spoke to the missis, told her I would have to stop work and get permission to continue, as it was over 4m high at the front of the building. I rang her back the next day told her not to come on my property again without permision, and said the the hight is mesured from the highest point of land next to the building.
After a long argument about it I told her to check with her colleges and ring me back, 30 minutes later she rings back and apologises for her mistake and she will send me a letter saying I don't need planning permision.

[Balmoral Green]

That sort of thing happens quite often.

Download THE planning and building regulations, and read through and understand as much of it as you can, as relevant to your own project. If THE planning and building regulations are on your side, you can't go far wrong. And it is quite satisfying being right.

[Balmoral Green]

plug said:

I did not need planning as already had asked, only I didn't get it in writing.

You wouldn't have gotten anything in writing anyway, they don't confirm any verbal discussions over the telephone or planning department reception desk in writing, they simply don't have time for it, that is what the permitted development rights questionnaires are for. If you had filled in one of those, you would have had a letter saying 'planning not required' to have waved at her as well

[NDA]

Does the 4 year rule apply? I don't understand this law but have heard it quoted - that being if the construction has been up for four years or more, it can stay?

This was in reference to the earlier post about what happens when you come to sell.