Planning Permission : Scandinavian Log Cabins Ltd, Quality Swedish Cabins

A useful guide to making a planning application can be found at planning-applications.co.uk

Planning Permission

Whatever the method of construction, if you are going to build a house you will always need planning permission.

In October 2008 the regulations in EnglandPlanning officers tell us the old rules still apply in Wales although both government and local authority web sites do not make this clear. regarding erecting outbuildings around the home without planning permission were changed, supposedly to make them less restrictive, but in practice making them more restrictive.

The new regulations have been badly written and can be interpreted in a number of ways. So for example verandahs are not permitted, but the regulations do not define what exactly a verandah is. Some local authorities would regard the terraces on our Tallbo cabins as a verandah while others do not.We know of one planning officer who looked up 'verandah' in a dictionary and saw it defined as "a roofed platform along the outside of a house" and ruled that since a Tallbo cabin was not a house, then its terrace could not be a verandah. We therefore make Tallbo cabins both with, and without terraces. Contact your local authority for clarification of the local interpretation.

There are also differences of opinion among local authorities regarding cabin height. Some local authorities say that only those parts of a cabin within 2m of a boundary have to be below 2.5m in height while others say if any part of the cabin is within 2m of a boundary then the entire cabin must be below 2.5m in height.

For garden buildings planning permission is not required provided:

- It is not closer to the road than your house
- It does not cover more than half the area of the garden
- It is not for use in connection with running a business
- It is not more than 4m high for a double pitched roof, or 3m high for a single pitched roof.
- At a distance 2m from a boundary it is less than 2.5m high.
- It does not have a raised platform more than 300mm high.
- It does not have a verandah.
- It is for the sole use of the house occupants
- Your house is not a listed building

(Note also that building regulations require that any building in excess of 15 square metres should be at least 1m away from a boundary.)

If you live in a Conservation Area, a National Park, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, or the Broads additional limitations apply.

Refer to the Government's Planning Portal for advice on when planning permission is required.

You should always check with your local planning authority in case any special local rules apply. Your local planning office will often operate a telephone help line so you can talk to the duty planning officer if you have any doubt about whether planning permission is required.