Planning permission and building regulations How planning permission works
Planning permission: the basics
Most improvements to your home need planning permission
Most major changes to your home, such as an extension or conversion, need consent – known as planning permission. However, there are some changes for which you don't need planning permission. The rules on this changed in October 2008 and the government's planning portal has further details.
To seek planning permission, you apply to your local planning authority, detailing the improvements or renovations you wish to make.
If the planning permission application is in line with the local authority’s plans for developments, you can usually expect to receive planning permission within eight weeks.
For more information about which projects need planning permission, see the government's planning portal.
As well as obtaining planning permission, you may also need building regulations approval. See the section on building regulations for more detail.
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Full planning permission
Approval from your local authority to go ahead with the property improvements as indicated in the plans submitted to them.
Outline planning permission
An ‘approval’ in principle from the local authority, given subject to gaining full planning permission.
Planning officer
A person in the local authority who advises on changes to your property and how they might impact on nearby buildings, people and the environment.
Making a successful planning application
Each local authority creates its own rules for planning permission
Whether your planning application is accepted depends, to a certain extent, on your individual local authority.
Each local authority creates its own rules for planning permission – around their published Local Development Framework. This may make it easier to gain planning permission in some places than in others, particularly if they've been selected for regeneration or development.
Rules for planning permission can also be interpreted differently depending on who's making the decision. For example, if you have a planning department sympathetic to new construction methods and the latest architectural design, they may be more likely to pass modern home improvements than a department that's keen on a more traditional look.
When considering any major home improvements that will require planning permission, read your council’s Local Development Framework.
There may be a section on residential home improvements, such as ‘extension of dwellings’. The framework can be incredibly helpful, giving a picture of what would and wouldn't be acceptable.
