Do I need Planning Permission for a Side Return Extension?
Good news - its quite possible that you do not!
Most Victorian terrace properties in London have a strip of Land along the side of the ‘outrigger’ which is dark and under-utilised.
Fyi, the outrigger is original rear extension behind the main house, usually two storeys underneath a pitched roof… same terminology but nothing to do with a boat which confuses many a person!
A side return extension encloses this space internally and can transform the kitchen into the social heart of the home.
And doing this may well fall under permitted development guidelines.
Permitted development guidelines are a set of rules that allow you to extend a house without needing to apply for planning permission if specific limitations and conditions are met.
To find out if you can build under permitted development ask yourself the following questions:
Do you own the whole house? If the answer is no and you just own a ground floor flat then I’m afraid you don’t have permitted development rights.
Are you in a conservation area? If the answer is yes then permitted development may be restricted, its best to phone the local council and check before proceeding.
Is there a previous extension? If the answer is yes its likely you have used up some of your allowance.
Once you have determined if you can build a side return under permitted development, there are a few requirements it must adhere too, these are:
Must be 1 storey
Max 3m height if within 2m of a boundary (which will be the case for all side returns)
Take up no more than 50% of the land around the house, this includes front and rear gardens (unlikely for a side return)
No wider than half the width of the original house (again unlikely for a side return)
No longer than 3m in length
The last requirement on the list is usually the deal brake as most outriggers are longer than 3m.
However all is not lost, if you plan to extend by more than 3m (i.e. the length of the side return), it will be subject to a prior approval process called the Neighbour Consultation Scheme.
This means you will need to notify the council who will then consult with your adjoining neighbours. They do get a chance to object and say no thank you, usually on the basis of loss of daylight and sunlight to their windows, but they may not.
Whether you go down the standard Permitted development route or Neighbour Consultation Scheme we always prepare a set a of drawings and submit these to the council so that you have a Certificate of Lawfulness before starting on site. That way there are no nasty surprises when you start on site and your paperwork is in order when you come to sell the house.