Adding a conservatory to your home significantly increases your living space. Whether as a kitchen, dining room or lounging area, a conservatory allows in lots of natural light, bringing an ambient and relaxing setting into your home. It can also bring the beauty of your garden into your home, especially if combined with a complementary patio area.

The benefits of a conservatory are many. But whether you are building a new conservatory or rebuilding an existing one, it is important to be informed of the relevant planning permission and regulations before commencing work.

Permitted Development For Conservatories

New rules covering whether or not you can extend or add to your home without having to apply for conservatory planning permission for a conservatory came into force on 1 October 2008.

The New limits and conditions for what is allowed without the need for planning permission apply largely to the dimensions of the proposed addition, its position on the house and its proximity to your boundaries.

“Conservatories forward of the principal elevation or side elevation of the original house and fronting a highway are NOT permitted development.” Consequently, only side and rear conservatories are considered allowed development, forbidding the erection of conservatories beyond the front threshold of your house facing the road.

Side Conservatory Or Rear Conservatory

Side or rear conservatories must:

* Be single storey conservatory
* Not be taller than 4m (including any cresting and finials)
* Not have a width greater than half of the original house
* Not exceed 50% of the total area of land around the original house
* Not extend beyond the rear wall of the original house by more than three meters of an attached house or by four of a detached house.

Conservatory Eaves and Roof Height

Maximum eaves height should be no higher than the eaves of the existing house.

The highest part of the conservatory (including cresting and finials) should be no higher than the roof ridge line of the existing house.

If your conservatory is within two meters of the property boundary, maximum eaves height should be no higher than 3 meters to be considered permitted development.

Conservatory Finishing

The finishing details are all-important and can make all the difference between success and failure of an application.

Great care must be taken when choosing cresting's and finials, these are the decorative architectural devices seen on the roof of a conservatory. The finial is the pointed feature at the front of the apex and the cresting is the piece running along the ridge of the roof.

There are specific designs that accompany different periods of architecture and you would not want an application to be rejected on the basis of a simple architectural faux pas on the roof.

It would be significantly cheaper to submit a planning application for your conservatory with plans specifically designed in accordance with current conservation rules, rather than simply submit an architect’s plans that may be rejected forcing you to have them heavily revised, significantly adding to your costs.

Conservatory Materials

Planning and conservation officers generally find it easier to approve plans for a new or replacement conservatory if the materials used in construction are in harmony with the building it is attached too, or to those in the surrounding area.

This means using brick or stone for dwarf walls that match the main building materials of your home and using natural materials such as timber for the conservatory construction.

Plastic and uPVC conservatories will usually be frowned upon, as will conservatories where it is planned to have a poly carbonate roof for the glazing.

You may need to paint the exterior woodwork of the conservatory to match window frames and doors of your home, but if it is built in oak or other hardwood, it may be allowed to weather and gradually blend in with the area.

Building a Conservatory in a Conservation Area

If you have lived in a conservation area for some time you are likely to be aware of the regulations and how these can affect home improvements.

However if you have recently moved into the area it is most likely to be all new to you. That being said, one of the reasons that you purchased your new home may well have been the character of the locality and the preservation the conservation status has provided.

It is important to note, Conservation areas are not intended to lock a place in the past as a form of living museum, new development is often permitted but it will have to be undertaken sympathetically to conform to the existing environment.

If you are planning to build a conservatory in a conservation area or demolish an existing one that you plan to replace, it is absolutely necessary to obtain the required conservation area consent prior to beginning any works on your conservatory. Going ahead without this may result in a fine or imprisonment, or both.

Contact Drawing and Planning today for a FREE feasibility survey for your conservatory.

At Drawing and Planning, our consultants have extensive knowledge and expertise in the numerous and varying planning Articles, Directions and restrictions of all that relate to conservatories.

Our team of consultants would be glad to assist you with any query you may have regarding your conservatory.

Should you need conservatory planning permission, we would be glad to assist you with all elements of your application.

If you would require drawing only, our in house architects can provide you with detailed existing and proposed drawings for all types of conservatories.

Call Drawing and Planning with your query today 0208 202 3665