Better to Ask Forgiveness?

You might have thought that you would need planning permission to add a conservatory to your house, and until October 1st 2008 you would have been absolutely right. Since then, however, planning regulations have been altered so that you no longer need to secure planning permission before building a conservatory.

The new rules are subject to some limitations, however. You’ll still need to check with your local planning authority before adding a conservatory to a listed building or one in a conservation area. What’s more, there are a few rules concerning the size and construction of the conservatory.

You may need to seek planning permission if your planned conservatory will be taller than the tallest part of your house. It also cannot be built on the front face of a house which faces a highway without permission.

A single storey conservatory must be less than 4 metres deep and 4 metres tall to be built without requiring permission. A two storey conservatory should extend no further than 3 metres from the rear of the house

The conservatory must also not take up more than half of the area of land around the original house. One thing to be careful of is that if your house has been extended since it was built (or since 1948 , if it was built before then), then this refers to the house as it was originally built. Be sure to check the records for your house to make sure it hasn’t been extended recently, you don’t want to get caught out.

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The great thing about conservatories is how flexible they are. They have many of the advantages of garage conversions or extensions, and they also let a lot of light into your house whether in summer or winter.

Conservatories make great spaces in which to a host party or barbecue, to watch the birds in the garden, or just relax and put your feet up.

With a few well chosen plants and other decorations they could even become an indoor extension of your garden.

The new planning rules make it quicker, easier and cheaper to plan and build a conservatory, and with the summer on its way there has never been a better time to get an instant online quote from WindowQuoter.co.uk.