Planning Permission | Taking Your Office Home

Planning Permission, Building Regulations and Foundations.

Garden Office and Granny Flat Planning Permission Service.

If you want to work from home in a garden office, build a leisure studio or granny flat you will have consider whether you need planning permission.

Most of the garden office buildings that we construct do not need planning permission, but it is always wise to check the new planning rule opposite.

Planning permission is not about the size of a garden office; it is about the location and its intended use. Even greenhouses need planning permission in certain circumstances.

Granny flats used as a primary dwelling always need planning permission, but there are many circumstances where small granny annexes and accommodation buildings such as Microlodges don’t.

Some of our largest buildings have not required planning permission, whilst some of our smallest ones have because they where built in a Conservation Area or other special space.

Planning Permission Service.

We provide a free planning permission service to make the process easy. Please contact us for a fuller explanation or discuss your particular circumstances.

If you have any basic planning permission questions you can visit the government information site at http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/. or please feel free to contact Lynn Fotheringham on 01524 737999 to ask questions about planning permission for garden offices, Microlodges or granny flats.

Building Advice - Building Regulations and Foundations.

Planning permission and Building Regulations are two different things: -

Building regulations are about the quality and technical design of a structure.
Planning permission is about the positioning and external appearance of a structure.

We voluntarily choose to meet building regulation standards of construction for all our buildings however small, because we believe that any lesser standard of insulation, construction and foundations is inadequate for an permanent outdoor room used as an extra living space.

Understanding Building regulations.

Buildings of less than 30sq metres, if they are positioned more than a metre from a boundary and are not going to be used for sleeping accomodation do not need to meet building regulations. This leads some companies that sell insulated summerhouses and sheds of less than 30sq metres to claim that their buildings 'meet building regulations.' when in reality what they mean is 'our buildings don't have to comply with building regulations'.

At InsideOut we believe that garden office buildings should be designed and built to the same quality as a timber frame house that you would choose to live in all year round. It is, after all, an extension of your home that you and your family will use for many years to come.

To achieve this we pursue a realistic balance between eco-friendly materials and traditional building methods. We specify construction materials, interior and exterior finishes, and doors and windows that we would personally use if we were building our own house.

Foundations Permanent buildings needs solidly constructed foundations to stop them subsiding when ground conditions vary and to stop them blowing away in storms. Our buildings stand on discreet concrete pile foundations, allowing air to circulate under the building.

Permanent buildings should not be laid directly onto the ground as subsidence and slipage may occur. However if you have an existing garage base or other substantial support we can design a building to fit. We survey your garden to assess it's suitability and then supply detailed foundation plans, with full technical instructions to your groundworks builder. We can find a suitable groundworks builder in your area for you as part of our service.

Building specification A full building specification is available when you request or download a brochure. Garden office buildings brochure

Guarantee. There is a 10 year structural warranty on all InsideOut buildings. Fixtures and fittings are guaranteed for 12 months or for the manufacturers warranty - if longer. Properly cared for garden offices and accomodation buildings should last a lifetime.

You will find information on planning permission at Garden office buildings planning

Insideout garden office company designs and supplies the following high specification timber frame buildings: -

Smaller garden offices

Larger garden offices

Fully insulated leisure buildings.

Microlodges

Granny flats

Bespoke buildings - large and small.

Garden offices home page.

Home CALL US ON 01524 737999
REQUEST A BROCHURE
PHONE OR EMAIL US HERE
- About Us
- New Links
Eco-Friendly Offices
- Smaller Office Buildings
- Larger Office Buildings
Living Spaces
- Microlodges
- Granny Annexes
Leisure Spaces
- Leisure Space and Studio examples.
Bespoke Buildings
Prices
- FAQ
Planning Permission
- Taking Your Office Home
Eco-Friendly Materials
- Garden Offices | Carbon footprint
- Insulation
- Breathing Technology U Values.
- Timber Frame
- Doors Windows Double Glazing
- Cedar Shingles
- Larch Cladding
- Decorating Inside & Out
InsideOut photo gallery

NEW PLANNING RULES FOR ENGLAND [See below for Scotland and Wales]: -

From October 2008 Rules governing outbuildings apply to sheds, greenhouses and garages as well as other ancillary garden buildings such as swimming pools, ponds, sauna cabins, kennels, enclosures (including tennis courts) and many other kinds of structure for a purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse.

Outbuildings are considered to be permitted development, not needing planning permission, subject to the following limits and conditions:

No outbuilding forward of the principal elevation fronting a highway.

Outbuildings and garages to be single storey with maximum eaves height of 2.5 metres and maximum overall height of four metres with a dual pitched roof or three metres for any other roof.

Maximum height 2.5 metres within two metres of a boundary.

No verandas, balconies or raised platforms.

No more than half the area of land around the "original house"* would be covered by additions or other buildings.

In National Parks, the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and World Heritage Sites the maximum area to be covered by buildings, enclosures, containers and pools more than 20 metres from house to be limited to 10 square metres.

On designated land* buildings, enclosures, containers and pools at the side of properties will require planning permission.

Within the curtilage of listed buildings any outbuilding will require planning permission.

*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.

IN SCOTLAND AND WALES you will need to apply for planning permission if any of the following cases apply on the land around your house.

You want to put up a building or structure which would be nearer to any highway than the nearest part of the "original house", unless there would be at least 20 metres between the new building and any highway. The term "highway" includes public roads, footpaths, bridleways and byways.

More than half the area of land around the "original house" would be covered by additions or other buildings.

The building or structure is not to be used for domestic purposes and is to be used instead, for example, for parking a commercial vehicle, running a business or for storing goods in connection with a business.

You want to put up a building or structure which is more than 3 metres high, or more than 4 metres high if it has a ridged roof. (Measure from the highest ground next to it.)

If your house is a listed building, or you live in a Conservation Area, a National Park, or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and you want to put up a building or structure with a volume of more than 10 cubic metres.

Note: If your new building would have a volume over 10 cubic metres, and come within 5 metres of the house, it would be treated as an extension and would count against your overall volume entitlement.