No permitted development area

[TheKeymeister]

The house I've just bought shows up on the planning portal map as in a 'no permitted development' area, which apparently means some or all of the permitted development rights have been removed. It seems to be quite common as many of the other estates in the general area are the same. It's a 70s private built estate, not in anywhere special just a Coventry suburb.

I emailed the planning department and asked what, if any, permitted development rights I have. This was on the 4th of March. They came back to me today and have asked me for £40 as they need to make a search of their records.

Is this right? Can they just remove some permitted development rights and not tell me which, unless I pay them £40? It almost sounds like a money spinner for them...

I plan on rebuilding the perimeter fence slightly higher than the original, having a large garden shed and possibly a conservatory. From what I understand based on the sizes of it all, they could all usually be done under PD.

Any advice welcome.

 

[jeds]

The house I've just bought shows up on the planning portal map as in a 'no permitted development' area, which apparently means some or all of the permitted development rights have been removed. It seems to be quite common as many of the other estates in the general area are the same. It's a 70s private built estate, not in anywhere special just a Coventry suburb.

I emailed the planning department and asked what, if any, permitted development rights I have. This was on the 4th of March. They came back to me today and have asked me for £40 as they need to make a search of their records.

Is this right? Can they just remove some permitted development rights and not tell me which, unless I pay them £40? It almost sounds like a money spinner for them...

I plan on rebuilding the perimeter fence slightly higher than the original, having a large garden shed and possibly a conservatory. From what I understand based on the sizes of it all, they could all usually be done under PD.

Any advice welcome.

Sounds a bit fishy to me. Most (all) of the estates I have ever come across with restircted permitted development rights are either quite new or conservation areas.

When you say 'planning portal map', do you mean your local authority website? Or are you talking about a map on the planning portal? If so which one?

You could also search for a previous planning application close to your house . (there's bound to be one) Look up the officers report and see what it says about restricted development rights.

 

[TheKeymeister]

Thanks for the reply

I'm working from their planning map here - http://maps.coventry.gov.uk/connect/?mapcfg=planning

If you type in 'Langbank Avenue' and zoom out, all of the private housing estates in the area built after about 1960 are listed as NPD areas. Not surprisingly, this doesn't include any of the council housing.

There have been a couple of planning applications so I'll have a read and see if I can find anything.

 

[TheKeymeister]

Bugger

Found this in one of the officer reports for an identical house in my street

The application property along with other properties in the estate has had its Permitted Development Rights removed.

This was for a full planning application for a conservatory. I can't understand why the PD rights have been removed, it seems like they were short of work in the planning department and a few quid short.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I have come up against this situation a few times, if the documentation is not readily available on their system (ie in a filing cabinet in the depths of their archives office somewhere) then the only way to establish exactly what PD rights you have may be to cough up (ie someone will have to physically go through the records to find them and this is what the charge is for). That said this is usually for developments between about 1980 and around 2000 when PD rights were typically restricted as conditions of the original planning application and they have not made it onto the system, prior to that restricting PD rights in this way seems less common.

Or you could look in your deeds, restrictions are sometimes in there.

They restrict PD rights to restrict the development its very common.

 

[jeds]

Thanks for the reply

I'm working from their planning map here - http://maps.coventry.gov.uk/connect/?mapcfg=planning

If you type in 'Langbank Avenue' and zoom out, all of the private housing estates in the area built after about 1960 are listed as NPD areas. Not surprisingly, this doesn't include any of the council housing.

There have been a couple of planning applications so I'll have a read and see if I can find anything.

Well, you've got your answer without parting with the forty quid. You'll have to make an application. If it's any consolation you don't have to pay the planning fee.

 

[TheKeymeister]

Can it be true though that there's a complete lack of PD rights?

How far would one be expected to go with it? Should I be applying for retrospective permission for the small shed, greenhouse, etc that's in the garden?

 

[^woody^]

When there is an estate, and everyone is throwing up poxy looking extensions, then the council may decide to remove PD rights (known as an Article 4 direction) to gain some control over the look of the area

Such areas should be easily identifiable and noted in the local plan. Or you could probably get the info via a FOI request

 

[TheKeymeister]

Excellent idea, it seems others have had joy by sending FOI requests with regards to Article 3/4 directions.

Reading the email I got from the planning department, they treated it as me wanting advice on a planning application before submission which is chargeable. Hopefully the FOI request will be more suitable.

Regards existing extensions, there aren't really any. There's a couple of attached garages, and any 2 storey side extensions have been stepped back to prevent the terracing effect. The only other stuff is the bog standard occasional upvc porch, conservatory, garage etc.

The houses were pre-approved when built for a specific type of Marley concrete sectional garage apparently, and there are restrictions on fence heights etc, so maybe that's where all this nonsense originates from.

 

[TheKeymeister]

I've finally received a response to a FOI request for the details, apparently the restrictions come from this section of the original planning application for the development...

Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning General Development Order, 1963, nothing in Article 3 of, or the First Schedule to, that order, shall operate so as to permit (within the area the subject of this permission) any development referred to in Classes I and II of Part I of the First Schedule to the Order, and no such development shall be carried out at any time within that area without the express grant of permission by the Local Planning Authority or on appeal by the Secretary of State for the Environment, under Part III of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1962.

From what I can work out, Class I of the 1962 Order was "Development within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse" which is the same as Part 1 of the current rules. Class II was "Sundry minor operations" which basically equates to Part 2 of the current rules. And none of the other classes really apply to a house.

Which means I can't even scratch my arse without planning permission. And as a garden shed would come under Class E of Part 1 of the current rules, I can't even get rid of the old shed and buy a new one by the looks of it, without applying for planning permission, if what I've worked out is correct

 

[TheKeymeister]

Had a reply back from the planning department who confirmed all of the above is true, and that I will need planning permission for a fence, shed, etc. bugger

He did however say that after 4 years of it being there, if nobody complains then its immune from action. The way it was worded seemed like this was a way round it, so I might just have to ask the neighbours if they'll be happy with my shed. The other neighbour won't care as he's erected a fence about 9ft high to box in his car port (without permission) so wouldn't see it anyway!

 

[luisdesign]

Technically he's wrong. This is because the restriction is on the original planning application which means that if you breach this it is a "breach of condition". AFAIK, the time period for this is 10 years, not 4.

Also, just to clarify Jeds comment; you do not have to pay a fee for a planning application as long as the works would have been permitted development. If the work you want to do would be subject to planning anyway then you would need to pay the regular planning fee.