LBC applications 

Often require Heritage Statements explaining:

• Historic significance
• Proposed works
• Impact assessment
• Justification   

Heritage-Led Design - Successful proposals demonstrate:

• Minimal intervention
• Preservation of significance
• Reversible alterations where possible
• Appropriate materials and detailing

Planning Permission

Whether you're exploring the need for planning permission, seeking prior approval, pre-application advice  or require assistance with commercial, Change of Use or mixed use developments we are here to guide you through the process.  Common Examples are:

• Shops to Dwellings or Cafes or Restaurants
• Agricultural Buildings to Residential (Class Q PDRs)
• Residential to Holiday Let or Guest house into flats or Dwellings
• Residential to Commercial or Offices to Residential

Often No formal Change of Use is required if remaining within Class E

House holder Permitted Development Rights - Class A

Residential Rear Extensions are commonly designed to comply with Class A of the Town and Country Planning Permitted Development rights in England. Exact eligibility depends on the property, its planning history, whether it's listed or in a conservation area, and conditions removing Permitted Development Rights. Permitted Development Rights  differ depending upon:

• Property type
• Location
• Planning history
• Existing restrictions
• Article 4 Directions and Article 2 (3) land

Bespoke Kitchen Extensions designs

E Design and Planning will design an extension to suit the style of your property and compliment  your kitchen extension. We can transform your kitchen into an open, airy light filled multifunctional room, offering more space, better flow and connection to the garden. Our designs include:  

• Orangeries, roof lanterns and vaulted ceilings for heritage led designs  
• Glass Extensions for modern additions
• Side Return Extensions to utilise unused/dead space
• Open-Plan Rear Extensions to maximise light and usability

Garden Rooms and Structures designed Under Class E,  Schedule 2, Part 1 of the GPDO

Garden buildings such as sheds, home offices and gyms are generally permitted without planning permission if they remain incidental to the main house and stay within the prescribed size and height limits and not used as separate living accommodation. It cannot become independent living accommodation with facilities such as a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom forming a self-contained dwelling.

Additional restrictions may apply to listed buildings, conservation areas and where permitted development rights have been removed.

Raised platform, Patios and structures 

Ground-level patios are generally permitted development, but decks or terraces more than 300 mm above ground are classed as raised platforms and usually require planning permission.

A raised platform is any platform with a height greater than 0.3 meters above ground level. Therefore:

• decking up to 300 mm above adjacent ground is generally capable of being permitted development (subject to the other Class E limits),
• decking over 300 mm high is a raised platform and falls outside Class E, requiring planning permission unless another permission applies.

Roof terraces, Balconies and raised verandas 

A rooftop terrace is an accessible outdoor space created on the roof of a house or extension. It commonly includes decking or paving, balustrades, seating and planting. Because it creates an elevated outdoor platform with potential for overlooking neighbouring properties, it will generally require planning permission in England.

Roof terraces and balconies also normally require permission, while Juliet balconies without an external platform are generally permitted. Where there is any uncertainty, a Lawful Development Certificate can confirm that the proposal is lawful before work begins.

Understanding Permitted Development Rights for Mobile Homes and Caravans

Legal Compliance: Homeowners should ensure that their use of a mobile home or caravan as a residential annex complies with all relevant regulations. While planning permission might not be required, it is still crucial to meet the criteria set out in the relevant Acts and Orders.

Designing householder extensions, additions and outbuilding under  Permitted Development Rights

Permitted development rights grant homeowners the freedom to make specific alterations including extensions, loft conversions, and other alterations and additions to their properties without seeking planning permission.

However, it’s important to note that permitted development rights differ based on the type of property and its location. To qualify, the size and scope of the proposed work must fall within the specified limits and conditions.

Restrictive Conditions are often imposed on modern housing estates, rural, Conservation Areas and sensitive locations.    

Permitted Development  for Change of Use 

This is where permitted development change of use rules become genuinely powerful for professional developers. The following classes all require prior approval, but bypass the full planning process entirely.

• Class MA - Commercial to Residential (Class E to C3) 
• Class Q - Agricultural Buildings to Residential 
• Class R - Agricultural Buildings to Commercial Uses
• Class ZA - Demolition and Rebuild
• Class E (Use Class) - Commercial Flexibility

Planning enforcement - occurs when a Local Planning Authority (LPA) believes development has taken place without the required planning permission or that planning conditions have not been complied with.

Consequences of Permitted Development Mistakes

• Receiving an enforcement notice requiring unauthorised development to be altered or removed.

• A stop notice or temporary stop notice halting work.

• Court action for failing to comply with an enforcement notice.

• Fines or other penalties if convicted, 

• Having to demolish or reverse unauthorised building work at your own expense.

Common Enforcement Issues

• Extensions built without planning permission
• Buildings exceeding permitted development limits
• Unauthorised residential occupation
• Changes of use without consent
• Breach of planning conditions - attached to historic planning consents
• Development not in accordance with approved planning drawings
• Listed building alterations without LBC consent
• Garden structures built within the curtilage of listed buildings
• Commercial activities operating from residential properties
• Raised decking's & permanent physical changes to ground levels 
• Engineering operations, involving substantial earth works retaining walls etc.