Another successful planning permission.

Another happy client . We have been Granted Planning Application and Lawful Development Certificate for side extension and loft conversion to this semi-detached family home in Ashford, Surrey.

The client's brief was to extend to the side to allow for a annex for an elderly member of a family as well as creation of additional attic space. The process went smoothly with small change request from the Planning officer. Our experience shows that the two elements are best approached from different strategic angles with loft conversions giving best return in space under Permitted Development rights and side extension falling under Planning Application.

What is a Lawful Development Certificate?

You may or may not be familiar with the Permitted Development Rights that most property owners have. These rights enable you, the owner, to carry out certain development works to your property without the need to apply for a Planning Application. Examples of typical PD projects are: porches, loft conversions, rear and side extensions, however all are limited by size and must meet all criteria listed in the Policy. You can find more information about what rights you ,as a homeowner have on Planning Portal and in the official government document which you can find here : https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/permitted-development-rights-for-householders-technical-guidance. Not all cases will be straightforward and not all home owners will have Permitted Development Rights. This could be because the property has already been extended in the past or the Local Planning Authority have served ,what's known as, Article 4 on the property, which takes away the PD rights the property would have by law. It is especially true if your property is newer development, but can be applied to any. Just like with all Planning Matters there is no one rule that fits all and each project has to be approached and considered based on their individual merits. The fact that your neighbor has build something under their PD rights, it does not necessary mean that you will be able to do the same.(#article4 #permitteddevelopment #LDC)

So how do you know that your extension or loft conversion is 'legal' and that you can get on with construction works without worrying about Planning Enforcement stopping it midway ? Well, this is where Lawful Development Certificate comes in. This is a legal document which confirms that the works you are proposing are lawful and do not require planning permission. We advise all our clients that the Lawful Development Certificate is obtained prior to works. This is for a number of reasons :1)it will give you peace of mind; 2) as a legal document these certificates are very useful when you are selling the house or applying for a mortgage to fund the works, your insurance provider may need those in case of the claim; 3) and last but not least , you could potentially find yourself in a very difficult situation if during construction you find out that your proposal, in fact, requires Planning Permission. The two have very different set of guidance under Local and National Planning Policies and you could be in a situation that the scheme needs to be redesigned to comply with your Local Authority Planning Policy. This is the last thing you want to be dealing with , when you have builders on site, large mortgage in your account and nowhere to live... Very stressful for all involved.