Simultaneous new roof and loft extension

The permitted development rules on altering an existing roof seem quite clear and easy to understand.

What about ripping off the whole roof though, and then subsequently building a different design to incorporate habitable rooms in the loft space where none previously existed? It begins to be a bit unclear to me. For example:

1. On the one hand, it could be argued that in the first place I can't do it at all because Class B is for "the enlargement of a dwellinghouse consisting of an addition or alteration to its roof" and Class C is for "any other alteration to the roof of a dwellinghouse" - it could be said that building a new roof from scratch comes under neither of those.

On the other hand though, the planningportal.co.uk site says "you do not normally need to apply for planning permission to re-roof your house or to insert roof lights or skylights as the permitted development rules allow for roof alterations subject to the following limits and conditions.

• Any alteration to project no more than 150 millimetres from the existing roof plane.
• No alteration to be higher than the highest part of the roof.
• Side facing windows to be obscure-glazed; any opening to be 1.7m above the floor.

These are specific to "any other alteration to the roof of a dwellinghouse" as detailed in Schedule 2, Part 1, Class C of the The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended).

There are different rules for "the enlargement of a dwellinghouse consisting of an addition or alteration to its roof" (Schedule 2, Part 1, Class B) which are detailed in our 'Loft Conversion' section."

2. The above seems to be a clear indication that the government regards a new roof as definitely falling under permitted development, via Class C but not Class B, which in turn would suggest that I can build a new roof after all, but that I should entirely ignore Class B and focus on complying just with Class C. That would be a massive problem however, as then no part of the roof could protrude more than 0.15m beyond the planes of the slopes of the original roof...which means effectively all I can do is replace like for like/not enlarge the roof in any direction eg: replace my hips for gables, put dormers in at the back etc.

In theory I'm doing the new roof and enlargement at the same time, so in theory I could apply Class C and Class B together, but technically I'm first re-roofing and then afterwards creating the habitable loft space...so is there a chance I could be subjected to enforcement action whilst re-roofing if I rely on this/don't go for householders planning permission?

 

Well, you will need Building Regulations approval for converting a loft to a habitable room.

 

This topic is about planning.

 

Will leave you to sort it out then.

 

Thanks, although if you have an opinion on this planning topic I'd be grateful to see it. Sorry if my reply seemed abrupt; I just didn't want this going off on a tangent.

 

Ok, fair enough. I had just been reading about another 'loft conversion' on here that didn't comply with bldg. regs so was in that mode.

 

Your proposal would be considered under Part B rather than Part C.

On the Planning Jungle website, there are a considerable number of appeal cases which deal with this very issue.
Unfortunately, while some would allow what you propose, others would not - seems to be about 50-50.

Interestingly, the legislation itself does not give any proportional limit as to how much of the roof could be enlarged, so
some appeal inspectors say that it's a matter of 'fact and degree', which really means it's too subjective.

 

So does that mean you are just going to apply for planning permission for what you actually want to do ?

 

I'm working on a list of all the pros and cons, so I can weigh it up and decide. It's the sort of thing I imagine more people than not would do without an application, and are likely not to have a problem, but my luck so far with planning departments and neighbours who don't live & let live is making me hesitant...

 

I might have misunderstood but I thought you said - 'That would be a massive problem however, as then no part of the roof could protrude more than 0.15m beyond the planes of the slopes of the original roof...which means effectively all I can do is replace like for like/not enlarge the roof in any direction eg: replace my hips for gables, put dormers in at the back etc.' , which meant you accepted that what you wanted to do was not permitted development and therefore required planning permission i.e. you would need to submit a planning application.
House extensions aren't usually that complicated, an architectural professional would have a fair idea whether your proposals would receive planning permission (unless you are proposing something outrageous !)

 

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