DPAD | Duckworth Planning and Design

Permitted Development

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 17:33:36 -0700

For many homeowners across Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire, the idea of extending a property is exciting. Whether it’s a new kitchen-diner, an extra bedroom, or even a two-storey addition, extensions can transform the way you use your home and increase its value.

But before work begins, there’s an important question to answer:

Do you actually need planning permission?

Understanding Permitted Development Rights

In England, certain home improvements can be carried out under what are known as Permitted Development (PD) rights. These rights allow you to make minor changes to your property without applying for full planning permission.

For example, you may be able to build a single-storey rear extension up to a certain size, or convert part of your loft, under PD.

However, these rights are not unlimited. Restrictions apply to:

The size and height of the extension.
How close it is to boundaries.
Whether your property is in a conservation area, green belt, or is a listed building.

Embarking on a custom-build project or planning significant home improvements can be an exciting but complex journey. One of the early steps in the journey towards getting planning permission is often to get pre-application advice to see how feasible your project is.

What is pre-application advice?

There are two main options for this. Some planning consultants will provide a planning appraisal. This is an independent expert assessment of the chances of getting consent.

But local planning authorities, often offer a paid-for (sometimes free) pre-application advice service too. Here we look at the pros and cons of taking this route to see if it will help guarantee more success for your full application.

Pre-application advice is an informal but often invaluable step in the planning process, offered by local planning authorities (LPAs) to individuals or developers considering a new self build, extension, or other type of development. This service allows you to present initial plans and ideas to a planning officer before submitting a formal planning application to get an indication of risks, general acceptability, and what types of documents may be required over and above the standard plans and elevations.

Solar panels have been a mainstay for those wanting to upgrade their homes and make them more efficient. For the longest time it was accepted via 'common collective knowledge' that planning permission is required for solar panels on a front roof slope in a conservation area but this is not right.

The legislation pertinent here is The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended), Schedule 2, Part 14, Class A (LINK HERE) which deals with the installation or alteration, etc. of solar equipment on domestic premises. The way it is written sets out the broad spectrum of what is allowed by default, then chips away by removing situations were solar panels and solar thermal equipment would not be acceptable.

Then the legislation continues to state what is not permitted development. The key to the argument about conservation areas lies at (a) and (c). (My emphasis)

In this instance it states under (a) that there is a limit to the solar panel protrusion of 0.2 metres from a wall or a roof. This is an important distinction as considers a wall and a roof as separate entities and makes them quite specific.

A.1 (c) the discusses solar panels in a conservation area referring quite clearly to installation on a wall which fronts a highway. There is no mention of roof as noted under (a). This then leads to the conclusion that only solar panel or...Read More

Expert Tips for Renovating an Old House

Sun, 10 Nov 2024 15:53:49 -0800

With the current housing shortage and the rising cost of land, the chance to renovate an old, disused or abandoned home or outbuilding can appear tempting. It could be a way for you to climb the housing ladder or extend without the disruption of building from scratch. Whatever your reasons, if you find yourself renovating an old house, these expert pointers could save you time and money.

Get some professional advice

You should always go into any building project with your eyes wide open, so seek help from a builder at the very beginning. Don’t be seduced by the property’s location or its layout. It pays to be critical of its faults and defects.

Take the time to prepare a plan, estimate the likely costs and schedule of the time required. Depending on circumstances, the building may need a lot of preparatory work. So, it’s essential to get the basics in place to avoid having to unpick things later, with the additional costs that would incur.

For example, don’t just assume the structure of the building is sound. Fitting a kitchen or bathroom over a timber floor without thoroughly examining it first could result in the fitting needing to be removed later because you need to replace rotten or defective floor joists.

It is essential to gain an understanding of the structure of the building, whether it be traditional masonry, rubble/stone, random slate or oak framing. Using the wrong techniques or materials can lead to further damage down the line, which...Read More

Visibility Splays

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 17:20:15 -0700

Visibility Splays are used to help determine if an access is safe. This is done by providing lines on a plan to prove to the Local Highways Authority (LHA), usually the Council or County Council, that the application is safe. Please note that whilst the details below are broadly acceptable every LHA has their own way of doing things so checking first is advisable. This can be done by searching the term "visibility splays for planning" and adding your Local Planning Authority (LPA); it will likely link to a highway standards document or Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

The visibility splay of an access is the ability to clearly see traffic approaching from both directions at a junction.

Visibility splays at any entrance or junction are measured along the edge of the main road (the “Y” distance) from a point a set distance back from the edge of the main road (the “X” distance).

"X" is typically 2.4metres to indicate the length of a car bonnet and your standard position when driving a car, but for major junctions this may increase to 4.5metres.

The "Y" distance is typically determinate on the speed of the road but could also be to do with the general traffic using the access or street, for example, HGVs accelerate and decelerate a lot slower than cars so extra distances to compensate for this may be required.

The "Y" distance of the splay will vary depending upon the speed of the vehicles and not how busy the road might be. The speed is a measured 85The terms “ancillary” and “incidental” refer to a use or physical feature within a site or building. They describe a use or physical feature that is both subordinate and connected – in some way – to the main use of the site or building.

In some circumstances, the terms are used interchangeably. We have also noticed that some local councils will refer to a specific use or feature – such as a car park – as incidental and other councils will refer to the same use or feature as ancillary. So you are quite right to be confused!

In most situations, it does not really matter whether something is described as “ancillary” or “incidental”. However, there is one very specific circumstance in which the difference is absolutely critical – householder permitted development outbuildings.

Householder permitted development rights

Householder permitted development rights are legal rights that enable most homeowners in England to make certain additions and alterations to their home and garden without any need to apply for planning permission.

One of these permitted development rights enables you to construct or alter outbuildings within the curtilage of your home. This is known as the “Class E” permitted development right and outbuildings constructed in accordance with this right are commonly referred to as “class E...Read More

4-Year Rule in Town Planning in 2024

Thu, 18 Jul 2024 04:43:56 -0700

What is the 4-year rule in Town Planning?

The 4-year rule in town planning allows immunity from planning enforcement action for unauthorised residential and operational development that has been in place for at least four years. For other changes of use and breaches of condition the time limit is 10 years. There is no limit on works to listyed buildoings or scheduled Monuments.

Understanding this rule is crucial to ensure compliance with planning regulations and to avoid potential legal consequences such as enforcement action, fines, demolition, and even prison.

The Impact of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 on the 4-Year Rule

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (LURA) received Royal Assent on 26 October, 2023, with secondary legislation finalised on 2 April 2024, bringing enforcement provisions into force. See Planning Act 2008 (Commencement No. 8) and Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (Commencement No. 4 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2024.

Section 115 revokes the four-year time limit for enforcement actions, extending it to ten years for all breaches of planning control. This applies to applies to operational development and change of use of any building to use as a single dwellinghouse.

However you have taken the news about Labour winning the 2024 General Election there will undoubtedly be some changes to the Planning system and how things are perceived. Below are a list of 20 promises made by the Labour Party. Who knows how or when these will be implemented but they could mean big things to certain people.

1. A pledge to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years. The party reiterated its commitment, first made at last year’s annual party conference in Liverpool, to delivering 1.5 million homes, equating to delivering 300,000 homes per year over the next Parliament.

2. Labour committed to “preserving the green belt” but said it would take a “strategic approach” to releasing “lower quality ‘grey belt’ land”. Labour stated it was “committed to preserving the green belt”, but would take a “more strategic approach” to the release of green belt land “without changing its purpose or general extent”. As has been previously reported, the party said it would do this via the release of “lower quality ‘grey belt’ land”, while maintaining a “brownfield first approach”.

Do you have land or buildings available?

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 12:33:10 -0700

If you have land or buildings that you wish to sell, please feel free to contact us. We may be able to assist you.

We have a number of contacts who are looking to purchase land or buildings throughout the country mostly in and around the Midlands but other areas are considered.

Whether your site has planning consent or not, we may have interested parties who may be able to assist you.

Please feel free to contact us for more information.

info@dpadltd.com

07793060852

Understanding the 4-Year Rule in Town Planning in 2024

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 06:34:11 -0700

The 4-year rule in town planning allows property owners to gain immunity from enforcement actions by the local planning authority for unauthorized residential developments that have been in place for at least four years. This rule is crucial for ensuring compliance with planning regulations and avoiding legal consequences such as costly enforcement actions, fines, or even demolition of unauthorized developments.

Overview of the 4-Year Rule

Purpose: Limits enforcement action for certain unauthorised developments after four years.

Applicable Developments:

Building, engineering, mining, or other operations in, on, over, or under land. The four-year period starts from the substantial completion of these operations.
Change of use of any building to a single dwelling or house, including parts of a building used as a single dwelling. The four-year period starts from the date of the breach.

For everything else the 10-Year rule applies.

Any unauthorised works to a listed building or protected tree has no limit to when enforcement action can be taken.

Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 significantly impacts the 4-year rule. Key points include:

Extension to Ten Years: Section 115 of The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 extends the enforcement time limit to ten years for all breaches of planning control, applicable to both operational development and changes of use to single dwelling houses.
Effective Date: These provisions came into force on April 25, 2024.
Transitional Provisions: The four-year rule remains for developments substantially completed or changes of use to dwellings occurring before April 25, 2024.