# Maximum English permitted development size for 'Garden Shed'



## punkrockdad (19 Jun 2007)

I cant seem to get a definitive answer from either the local council (without paying £70 for a certificate of permitted development on providing them with plans) or google!

Anybody got any experiences I can draw on?

thanks


----------



## woodbloke (19 Jun 2007)

Provided 'permitted development' rights are still intact then there is no restriction on size (I think, but may well be wrong...usually am  ) The only two things I had to be sure about when I built mine was that it was single storey and more than 5m from the house (or else it is considered as part of the house and building regs apply) Best thing to do is to have a bimble down to your local planning office and have a chat with someone, they'll soon tell you what you can or can't do - Rob


----------



## StevieB (19 Jun 2007)

Its 4m in height maximum for a ridge, 3m in height for a flat roof. The actual area I am not 100% certain on but I think its around 30m2. This is if you are not in a conservation area or other restrictions apply etc. There are also boundary restrictions ie you cannot build 4m tall 1cm from your neighbours sun patio edge etc

Try googling for shed sizes, some councils have stated limits. They might not be exactly the same as yours but will give you a ball park figure

Steve.


----------



## ike (19 Jun 2007)

> cant seem to get a definitive answer from either the local council



Probably because of the number of 'ifs' and 'buts' in the planning guide, e.g. previous extension(s), nature of boundaries etc. Maybe they could be more helpful if you whip out a fagpacket sketch of what you have in mind. Unless you are unfortunate enough to have to speak to a 'jobsworth', they are usually fairly helpful and should certainly be able to advise if or not you need to do a formal application - after all they are there to serve _us_.

Ike


----------



## duncanh (19 Jun 2007)

I'm pretty sure that there are variations from council to council on what is allowed. 
I remember seeing that some insist on sheds being 1m away from a boundary with a neighbour. I think the distance varied depending on the combustibility of the building materials and of the fence.
Also, there were regulations on the total percentage of land that was used for building (house/conservatory, existing sheds etc).

In the end I ignored the regulations, but my shed/workshop is only 12x6:-(

Duncan


----------



## OLD (19 Jun 2007)

Does this help:-http://www.diydata.com/planning/planregperm/planning_rules.php


----------



## Mike Saville (19 Jun 2007)

OLD":exmcn623 said:


> Does this help:-http://www.diydata.com/planning/planregperm/planning_rules.php



So from what this says: 

It contains no sleeping accommodation and the floor area does not exceed 15 square metres.

. . .the max is around 5 x 3m or just and 4m square.  . I've got a lot more room than this and was hoping for something a bit bigger - better speak to the local council once I've moved to see what can be done.


----------



## 9fingers (20 Jun 2007)

My research prior to building my workshop (30 sqm) can be summarised as follows.


Provided Permitted Development (PD) rights have not been removed by local restrictions such as being in a conservation area, then you can build structures 3m high (flat roof) and 4m high (pitched roof) over 50% of the land around your house without Planning Permission(PP). Structures must be more than 5m from the dwelling and 20m from the road 

However building regulations (BR), which are totally different from PP or PD, do also have an impact.

A structure of internal area 15 sqm can be built anywhere - right up to the boundary which no consideration as to fireproofing. Up to 30 sqm internal area must be fire resistant if built within 1m of the boundary. 
Provided these criteria are met, the structure is exempt from BR.
Any structure over 30 sqm internal area must be built to comply with all BR.


PD and BR are rules enshrined in law and apply across the country
PP is a matter of opinion and policy of the local council and changes on a whim especially if they have allowed something to be built in the area that they subsequently don't like.
In my experience of several run-ins with the planners over the years is that you are well advised to build under PD such that you can wave a few fingers to the planners.

PD and BR are rules and you can then build within the framework they provide. Much easier IMHO

HTH

Bob


----------



## Keith Smith (21 Jun 2007)

I've just asked my local council about building a garden shed, and this is at the bottom of the garden and over a metre away from the boundary. I can go up to 10 cubic metres, which is not a lot, without permission. Any more than that and I need full planning consent. So it appears they have different rules depending where you live.


----------



## tim (21 Jun 2007)

A lot does seem to depend on what you make it from as well. 

When I built mine a few years ago I didn't get permission (6.5x5m) although it does comply with height and distance from the road. I was looking some time later at buying some neighbouring land and building a big workshop from an old, tumbledown stone barn and I asked the guys about rules and regs etc. 

The first thing they wanted to do was to give me a grant btw for the stone barn because it would be being turned into a light engineering building. Sadly the landowners didn't want to sell the land.

I asked what the planning requirements would be should I decide to opt for a timber workshop of roughly 6.5m x 5m x 4m high   . They said no planning necessary because it would be classified as a temporary structure but it was also still possible for someone to complain and which point it may need to be dismantled.


----------



## Skiprat (21 Jun 2007)

Hello

My first reply so thought i would start here.

I joined this forum because i am building a workshop and thought i would get some ideas......and there are some good ones.

I am building my shed/bar/hot tub (all one unit) out of brick and this is where the descrepencies come in.

Brick sheds/workshops have different criteria to wood ones....

so it depends.......brick is more under scrutiny than wood and comes under tighter regulations....i.e no more than 10m volume but wood ones can be any size upto 50m volume......this is what i have been told/found out by a very slow council......basically no one seems to know.

Was also told the planning officer was put into the job because there was no-where else for him to go.....so theres the first sticky point for me.

will take pictures if this comes under workshop builds.

Skiprat.


----------



## Newbie_Neil (21 Jun 2007)

Hi Skiprat

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers
Neil


----------



## Paul Chapman (21 Jun 2007)

Hi Skiprat, welcome to the forum. 

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


----------



## Skiprat (21 Jun 2007)

Thankyou for the welcome.

Just been outside and dug away all the top soil and levelled off the garden.

Come to dig out the foundations and went to cut the hedge down and pipper me........theres a blackbirds nest with three new eggs in it. :evil: 

Just waited for the last lot to leave about 2 weeks ago so could get on and this happens....

Anyone any idea how long it takes for the average birds to fly away from eggs? :?: 

Foundations will have to stop as i am not one for destroying nature...except hegdes :roll: 

Thannx Skiprat


----------



## Woody Alan (21 Jun 2007)

Hi Skiprat

Sounds like you'll fit in a treat


> shed/bar/hot tub


 A man who has all his priorities totally in order  Would very much like to see pictures of your progress and description of build.

Cheers Alan


----------



## CWatters (21 Jun 2007)

As I understand it the 30sqm limit is for Building Control Approval not Planning Permission. They are seperate issues. You might need one but not the other.

The rules on PP are complicated. I recommend "How to get Planning Permission" by Roy Speer and Michael Dade (Stonepound books).

Generally the rules are:

If larger that 10 cubic meters it must not be within 5 meters of the house or it will be classed as an extension. That might be important if the building has already been extended.

It cannot cover more than 50% of the garden.

In a conservation area it cannot be bigger then 10 cubic meters.

It cannot be built nearer a public road or footpath then the original house or 20 meters.

Height must be less than 4 meters (3 meters if flat roof)

It must be within the curtilage of the house (eg it must be in the garden not an adjacent paddock - this causes problems if you want to build a stable). 

The rules on Building Control Approval are equally complicated..

If you want power in your outbuilding then you must either employ an electrician (a "scheme member") or if you DIY the electrics you have to make a Building Control Approval.

If the building is classed as a "Habitable Buiding" then a whole bunch of rules apply. I'm not sure if a workshop is a Habitable Building but I know that a room in the garden used as a Home Office is.

If a workshop is classed as a Habitable Room then the insulation, double glazing and heating must meet the Building Regs. On another forum someone is having problems modifying a home office based on a portacabin. Building Control are insisting that it's a habitable room and therefore the heating system must meet the regs. The latest regs require you to use a condensing gas boiler and appear not to allow electric fan heaters or portable gas fires (too much Carbon). 

I would be interested to know if a room used as a hobby workshop is classed as a habitable room or not?

PS I'm a "Self Builder" in the broader sense. Our builder just finished our house this year.


----------



## CWatters (21 Jun 2007)

Keith Smith":1yzqd5dd said:


> I've just asked my local council about building a garden shed, and this is at the bottom of the garden and over a metre away from the boundary. I can go up to 10 cubic metres, which is not a lot, without permission. Any more than that and I need full planning consent. So it appears they have different rules depending where you live.



That's the figure for a conservation area. If you aren't in a conservation area you should be able to build a bigger shed.


----------



## CWatters (21 Jun 2007)

Just a PS:

Planning Permission is not required for a temporary structure BUT Building Control Approval IS required if it's a temporary structure intended to be in one place for more than 28 days.


----------



## Jim Linn (23 Jun 2007)

I've just finished building a workshop and art studio in Crewe. The council here were quite helpful. 

I first put in a planning enquiry in which I specified I wanted a woodworking workshop and an art studio in two separate rooms on one level, made entirely of wood. I included a design. I was told that the dimensions of the building (27 sqm, less than 4m to the roof apex), position in the garden (more than 5m away from the house, less than 50% of garden area and more than 20m from the road) and location (PD rights in force) meant that it was within the PD rights limits and to go ahead.

However, I didn't think about BRs and after the timber wall frames were up, Building Control got in contact asking me to make sure I was complying with regs.

They were free with their advice and it turned out I was infringing the 1 metre fire rule, which is that a building of combustible materials greater than 15 sqm must be more than 1 metre from any boundary or wall. There is no discretion so I had no choice but to take the offending wall frame down and reposition it, which took a couple of months.

The good news was that as the building was less than 30 square metres it was exempt from the other building regs. The advice was, however, that the building regs were there for a reason and so I should endeavor to comply with them as far as possible even though the building was exempt. This I did.

Regardless of size you need electrics signed off.

The building was built from scratch to my own design, took 2 years and cost just under £10,000. It turned out much better than expected.

Hope this helps!


----------



## PowerTool (23 Jun 2007)

Welcome to the forum,Jim  

Any pictures of your studio workshop ?

Andrew


----------



## Jim Linn (2 Jul 2007)

Yes I will, but I don't know how. I've got pictures on this computer but how do I get them to this topic?


----------



## DomValente (2 Jul 2007)

Welcome Jim.

Try this, https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... hp?t=14776

Dom


----------



## Jim Linn (2 Jul 2007)

Holy jet engines! It worked!


----------



## CHJ (2 Jul 2007)

CWatters":2wfukhg3 said:


> If a workshop is classed as a Habitable Room then the insulation, double glazing and heating must meet the Building Regs. On another forum someone is having problems modifying a home office based on a portacabin. Building Control are insisting that it's a habitable room and therefore the heating system must meet the regs. *The latest regs require you to use a condensing gas boiler and appear not to allow electric fan heaters or portable gas fires (too much Carbon)*.



Be pushed to enforce that around here. No mains gas supplies.


----------



## PowerTool (2 Jul 2007)

Jim Linn":3e83scqn said:


> Holy jet engines! It worked!



Now _that_ looks nice  - fits in very well with the look of the surrounding houses.

Andrew


----------



## CWatters (17 Jul 2007)

CHJ":2a7cj73x said:


> CWatters":2a7cj73x said:
> 
> 
> > If a workshop is classed as a Habitable Room then the insulation, double glazing and heating must meet the Building Regs. On another forum someone is having problems modifying a home office based on a portacabin. Building Control are insisting that it's a habitable room and therefore the heating system must meet the regs. *The latest regs require you to use a condensing gas boiler and appear not to allow electric fan heaters or portable gas fires (too much Carbon)*.
> ...



There is allways condensing oil, condensing LPG or GSHP.


----------



## johnjin (17 Jul 2007)

I have just received back an answer from the council about planning permission on a work shop that I hope to build. It is 15 metre x 5 metre with a 4.5 metre height to the ridge. It is about 20 metre from the house and one metre from the boundary. They said that if I lowered the ridge to 4 metre it would not need planning permission. However because it is more than 30 sq metre it would need building permission.
Hope this helps

All the best

John


----------

