Planning Applications And Building Houses

If you are considering building a house or altering an existing one, you will need to apply for planning permission. This is a legal requirement in the United Kingdom and is obligatory, building without permission means that you will risk having the building demolished by the authorities at your expense. Over the last few years the planning laws have been relaxed a little to try and stimulate the construction industry and reduce the workload on district planning offices who were struggling under a burgeoning workload with applications for minor alterations to existing homes such as a loft conversion or a simple conservatory. With this relaxation in the planning laws, there are now many different types of works that can be done without making an application but it is very important you find out what your local planning office permits and what it does not before you begin.

If your alterations fall outside the exemptions, you must first apply for a Certificate of Lawfulness. This will give you a safeguard against further changes in law and be proof that your alterations are legal if you wish to sell your property. You can apply to your local council planning department online and the application will be very similar to your full planning application. Processing normally takes around 8 weeks. Planning departments are no longer the anonymous formal places that they used to be and the staff are generally willing and able to help with any queries you might have.

There are basically 2 types of planning permission and these are: outline planning permission and full planning permission.

Outline planning permission is used by developers or individuals to obtain permission for a rough plan of what they want to build, for instance if an individual wishes to build a 2 storey 3 bedroom house, they will make an application for that. It is not permission to go ahead with building but allows for modification to the plans to be made before final application is applied for. When outline planning permission is granted, the consent will last for 3 years and within that time, full planning permission must be applied for.

Full planning permission is compulsory for new builds and for any large modifications to an existing building. This requires that the full set of detailed plans are submitted for approval. The plans are usually drawn up by an architect and will be accurate to within millimetres, any changes to the plans means re-submitting and beginning the process again. Works must be carried out within 5 years or the plans will need to be submitted again.

It takes about 8 weeks for a decision to be made by the local planning authority. If you are unfortunate enough to have your application declined, you can appeal. You will submit another form and you will receive an answer after another 8 weeks. If the application is granted, there may be some conditions attached. These conditions will be a part of your planning permission and must be adhered to as this is a legally binding contract. If these conditions are not met, the authority could consider the development work to be illegal and have the power to enforce demolition. It cannot be stressed highly enough that you must comply with the planning permission exactly and not deviate from what you have been granted.

Comments? Questions? Email Here

© HowtoAdvice.com