Planning Permission & Building Regulations

for Edwardian Conservatories

Hazlemere Conservatories can care of all necessary Planning Permission and Building Regulations for the installation of your Edwardian conservatory with your local authority if required - here is a summary of some basic facts.

Under present legislation, if certain criteria are met you will not require planning permission in the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire or the Home Counties for Edwardian conservatories, unless you are adding a conservatory to a house that has already been extended. In addition, developers sometimes place further restrictions so it is worth checking if your house is a "new build".

In order to remain exempt from planning permission, Edwardian conservatories must adhere to the following four principles:

• At least half of the new walls and three quarters of the roof is either glazed or translucent material.
• They are built at ground level and are less than thirty square metres in floor area.
• The conservatory is separated from the dwelling house by external quality door(s).
• Glazing and any fixed electrical installations comply with the applicable building regulations requirements.

From 1st October 2008 new rules for conservatories and extensions took affect which replaced the old rules and affect conservatories as follows:

• No extension forward of the principal elevation or side elevation fronting a highway. This means that any conservatory on the front or side of a house that will be closer to a public highway than the original house will need planning permission. A highway is any public right of way including footpaths. 
• Maximum depth of a single-storey rear extension of three metres for an attached house and four metres for a detached house. The width of a conservatory running along the back length of a house is not constrained at all unless it projects beyond the house which is constrained by rule 3. A house is only detached if there is no solid structure connecting it to a neighbour. A "link" house is therefore not detached nor would be two houses with a common garage. The rules on what counts as being detached have not changed from the previous ones.
• Side extensions to be single storey with maximum height of four metres and width no more than half that of the original house.
• Maximum eaves height of an extension within two metres of the boundary of three metres from the lowest point on the ground.
• No balconies or raised platforms on Edwardian conservatories.
• On designated land no permitted development for rear extensions of more than one storey; no cladding of the exterior; no side extensions.
• No more than half the area of land around the "original house" would be covered by additions or other buildings.
• Maximum height of a single-storey rear extension of four metres.

While permitted development rights do allow for the construction of some Edwardian conservatories without planning permission you will have to limit the size and material construction if you want to avoid building regulations. If a conservatory you are building does not meet any of the above four principles then it will have to adhere to the building regulations in full.

For further information on Planning Permission and Building Regulations for Edwardian Conservatories visit our High Wycombe Showroom - if you prefer, arrange a free design visit online with one of our expert Edwardian conservatory designers or freephone 08000 825 825