Permitted Development Rights revised (again…)
Amongst a host of planning changes coming out of Central Government this week and coming in to force on 5th April 2015 are two items which caught our eye.
1. The deadline for completing construction of your “larger” single storey rear extensions (i.e. between 4m and 8m long) has been extended by another three years to May 2019. Before you all rush out and start building there are, of course, hurdles to jump through first.
2. Of perhaps more interest is that they’ve finally closed the loophole for front extensions under Permitted Development Rights.
The out-going legislation refused extensions as unlawful if they came forward of the principal elevation AND fronted a highway. Obviously, those with houses that didn’t face the highway had very little to stop them doubling / tripling the size of their home by coming forwards without the need to involve the pesky planning authority….
That is now all changing as the April 2015 legislation (or Statutory Instrument SI 2015 No. 596 to give it its proper title) changes Article 3 Schedule 2 Part 1 clause A.1(e) to read “(i) forms the principal elevation of the original dwellinghouse; or (ii) fronts a highway and forms a side elevation of the original dwellinghouse….”.
It may seem like a small change but the impact will be to simply close the loophole for front extensions entirely, regardless of their orientation to the nearest highway.
If you really want to read the whole SI, you can find it here: