Outbuildings fall under permitted development, not requiring an application for planning permission, provided conditions are met. Our buildings are designed to comply with building regulations too.

The ability to build under permitted development takes away the lengthy planning process and means you can add additional space to your garden more quickly and decisively, saving time and money.

Most councils allow outbuildings of any kind within permitted development if they don’t exceed 2.5m in height (if within 1 metre of your boundary) or 3m in height if at least 2m away from your boundary.

All of our Garden Office Buildings are designed to be just under 2.5m, therefore falling into permitted development right (apart from the Maxi Plus, which will need to be at least 2m away from your boundary)

Furthermore, your outbuilding cannot take up more than 50% of the original land surrounding your house, although we’ve never encountered a situation like this, it can happen if you’ve already extended and have a smaller garden.

However, if you live in a conservation area or listed building, flat, maisonette or site of special scientific interest (SSSI), then you will usually need planning permission for your building.

We always recommend that you speak to your local planning authority if you are unsure about whether you might need local authority approval. There is a great resource from the planning portal that you can download here, which runs through permitted development rules for outbuildings in the UK.

We’ve helped many of our customers navigate the complicated planning permission route, in situations where planning was necessary. If you’d like to speak to use regarding planning, building regs, or anything else at all, get in touch.