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Do We Need Planning to Extend and to Turn Two Terraced Homes into One?
Q
My partner and I have two Victorian terraced houses side-by-side and we’re planning to knock through to create a larger family home. We are also planning on extending right across the rear to the existing building line and into the side returns. Do we need to submit a planning application? Jane Mcdonald
A
Michael Ho lmes says: You are referring to Permitted Development (PD) rights to extend or alter your home without having to apply for planning permission. The answer will depend on the design of the proposed side return extensions and, in particular, how far back the new walls will extend beyond the original rear walls of the houses. For a singlestorey extension, you can extend terraced and attached houses by up to 3m from the original rear wall, and by up to 6m using the prior approval process, but the building cannot be any taller than 3m within 2m of the boundary, and no more than 4m overall. The building can not cover more than 50% of the original garden area if it’s to fall under PD.
You will also need to check with your local planning authority that Permitted Development rights have not been removed or restricted by an Article 4 direction, for instance, because you live in a conservation area, or by the conditions of a previous planning permission.
Subject to meeting the design criteria for PD, you can extend to the rear and fill in the side returns, providing there are no other legal restrictions such as restrictive covenants or rights of way that would preclude development. You should also check for the presence of public sewers and utilities for which you would require a ‘ build over’ agreement (for more on this, read the article on page 196).
The change of use from two dwellings into one is not a material change of use and so does not constitute development and therefore does not require planning permission. All of the new building work and structural alterations must, however, comply with the Building Regulations.