With Covid-19 putting a stop to most travel and social events, it is no surprise that higher sums of money are being invested into homes due to the sheer amount of time spent in the four walls of your home. Whether it’s a few DIY projects to full renovation plans the national lockdown has undoubtedly kickstarted the realisation that our homes need to be adapted to meet the individual needs and requirements of our families. Despite this, most large building works require planning permission unless it falls within permitted development exceptions meaning that many home plans can be limited or be months/years in the making.

From 31st August 2020, permitted development exceptions were extended meaning, that home extensions of more than one storey now fall under permitted developments. These new rules mean that many home extensions plan will be ‘fast-tracked’ through the planning process and seek to cut delays in paperwork in half, allowing families to make changes to their home in a much smaller time frame. These new exceptions apply to detached, semi-detached, and terraced properties, and extension plans can now be made to the main home or become a self-contained property, for example, an annexe. Benefits of these changes for homeowners include providing more space for growing families, which is of great importance in current times - due to so much of our lives being spent at home. This additional space can also allow homes to accommodate extended family during special occasions such as Christmas, helping to keep families together. But most of all, these changes in rules help to prevent the cost and nuisance of having to move house by allowing families to extend their existing home and keep the memories that come with it.

Despite its advantages, the changes to planning permission also carry a range of limitations and height restrictions that may make your plans exempt from the benefits. For example, only houses built between July 1948 – March 2018 can benefit from the change in rules, any homes built outside this period are exempt, and normal planning rules apply. Despite cutting delays in planning permission approval and making the process easier, prior approval of extension plans from a local planning authority is still required, meaning neighbours can still object, cause delays, or even lead to plan rejection. Additionally, the following height restrictions apply:

• The overall height of the extension cannot exceed more than 7m high (including the roof)
• The building must not be more than 18 metres high in total
• The floor to ceiling height of any additional storey must not exceed 3 metres in height or exceed the floor-to-ceiling height of any of the existing storeys in the home.

Nevertheless, if your extension/renovation plans fall within these restrictions, the benefits are immense; by potentially cutting your planning permission approval time in half and potentially enabling more of your budget to be concentrated on building work.

At Arc Design Services, we specialise in architectural design, dedicated to offering a fresh and exciting approach to every project. With this in mind, Arc Design Services could help you make the most of the new rules in your renovation or extension plans and achieve the most out of your home with minimal hassle. Contact our experts today at Arc Design Services at www.arcdesignservices.net or 0161 928 4433.