Planning

Permitted DevelopmentUnder new regulations that came into effect on the 1st October 2008, garden rooms, offices, studios and lodges are considered to be NOT requiring planning permission, subject to a number of limits and conditions.

If you can answer "No" to all of the following four questions, your new garden room, office, studio or lodge will NOT require planning permission:

If you answered "No" to all of the above questions, then your garden room, office, studio, lodge or building may be built under permitted development, subject to the secondary limits and conditions detailed below.

Primary limits & condition

1. Will the garden building stand forward of the principal elevation of your house, fronting the highway?
2. Will the garden building along with other buildings and additions, occupy more than half the area of land around the original house? (When it was first built or as it stood on 1st July 1948)
3. Will the garden building be built at the side of your house, on land designated as: a) A National Park b) The Broads c) As Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty d) A Conservation Area or e) A World Heritage Site?
4. Will the garden building be located within the curtilage of a listed building?

Secondary limits & conditions

Garden buildings with a maximum overall height over 2.5 metres are considered permitted development so long as they are located 2 metres from any boundaries and subject to:

Apex or Duel Pitched RoofA garden building with an apex or dual pitched roof must have an eaves height of no more than 2.5m and a maximum overall ridge height of no more than 4m.

Flat of Single Pitched RoofA garden building with a flat or single pitched roof must have an eaves height of no more than 2.5m and a maximum overall height of no more than 3m.

Low Flat or Low Single Pitched RoofA garden building with a low flat or low single pitched roof with a maximum overall height of 2.5m are considered permitted development and can be located within 2 metres of any boundaries.

Oeco garden rooms, offices, studios, lodges and buildings have been specifically designed to meet the requirements of the permitted development regulations.

Building Regulations

The rules governing building regulations for garden buildings are as follows:

1. Less than 15m²- Building regulations will not normally apply.
2. Between 15m² and 30m² - Building regulations will not normally apply, providing that the building is either at least 1m from any boundary or is constructed of substantially non-combustible materials.
3. In all cases, building regulations will be required if the building contains any sleeping accommodation.

ImportantAs you can see from the above, garden buildings up to an internal floor area of 30m² are generally exempt from building regulations (Except when the structure is to be used for sleeping accommodation) This leads many garden room companies to claim their products "comply with current building regulations" when in reality what they mean is "our buildings do not have to comply with building regulations". Obviously it is much easier and cheaper for a company to build a garden building that does not comply with the current building regulations.

Garden rooms, offices, studios, lodges and buildings that are not built to building regulations will tend to have thin walls, floors, ceiling, minimal insulation (if any!), no air flow cavities, no vapour barriers or breathing membranes. Purchasing a garden building which does not comply with the latest building regulations will cost you much more in the long term. They will be more expensive to heat, minimal insulation and no air flow will result in moisture entering the structure - often reducing the life of the actual structure and damaging internal contents. The room will sweat in the summer months and be uninhabitable during the winter. It is fairly common for people to spend the same amount purchasing a garden building which is not built to building regulations than to purchase one that is.

The New Part L (England & Wales) Building RegulationsAll Oeco garden buildings are manufactured to exceed the new Part L (England & Wales) Building Regulations.

Building regulations are concerned with how a structure is designed, built and insulated. For a truly all year round habitable outdoor building it has to be designed, built and insulated to at least the same exacting quality and standards as a modern house.

Oeco garden buildings are constructed using materials which exceed the current building regulations - After all a garden building is an extension to your main home and we know you would much rather use the room all year round whatever the climate!

Additional Information

For further information about the rules and regulations governing planning permission and building regulations, please visit the government's planning portal website.

All the information regarding planning and building regulations is based on the system in England. It is given as guidance only and should not be relied upon as definitive legal information.

For peace of mind we recommend that customers contact their local council planning department for specific advice.

If you have any unanswered questions please feel free to contact us