- Joined
- 18 Jul 2025
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 0
- Country
Our property is situated on a slope and last year we completed a ground floor extension (with planning permission!) that resulted in a drop of roughly ~5 brick courses from the back doors. Since then we have built a patio which roughly maintains the level of the internal floor and extends 5m away from the extension at its furthest point whilst maintaining the same level (with a little bit of fall).
However, I have since discovered, due to the raised nature of our patio, this might have required planning permission--it's borderline. In any case the work is done now but I'm completely stressing about it.
This is the guidance that applies in our instance:
"Height: references to height (for example, the heights of the eaves on a house extension) is the height measured from ground level. (Note, ground level is the surface of the ground immediately adjacent to the building in question, and would not include any addition laid on top of the ground such as decking. Where ground level is not uniform (for example if the ground is sloping), then the ground level is the highest part of the surface of the ground next to the building.)"
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...nt-rights-for-householders-technical-guidance
The bit I have bolded is where I'm not clear how this is interpreted. What part of the building is considered "next to the building"? For example, would or could the measurement be taken from the back of the original part of house (before extension), in which case we are fine as the patio would be about 200mm above the ground at this point. However, if the measurement is taken where the point the patio meets the extension then it's ~350-380mm. It might actually be less than this (and possibly right on the line of 300) but it's hard to say as the ground is uneven where the builders did earthworks during the extension.
Edit: just to add the patio is nowhere near 50% size of the garden, so we're ok on that front. Also, there is a beech hedge between us and the neighbour. Unfortunately, our gardener trimmed it before the patio work began, which makes it roughly eye level at the moment (when standing right on the edge of the patio). In a year or so I would expect it to have grown enough to address any potential privacy concerns.
However, I have since discovered, due to the raised nature of our patio, this might have required planning permission--it's borderline. In any case the work is done now but I'm completely stressing about it.
This is the guidance that applies in our instance:
"Height: references to height (for example, the heights of the eaves on a house extension) is the height measured from ground level. (Note, ground level is the surface of the ground immediately adjacent to the building in question, and would not include any addition laid on top of the ground such as decking. Where ground level is not uniform (for example if the ground is sloping), then the ground level is the highest part of the surface of the ground next to the building.)"
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...nt-rights-for-householders-technical-guidance
The bit I have bolded is where I'm not clear how this is interpreted. What part of the building is considered "next to the building"? For example, would or could the measurement be taken from the back of the original part of house (before extension), in which case we are fine as the patio would be about 200mm above the ground at this point. However, if the measurement is taken where the point the patio meets the extension then it's ~350-380mm. It might actually be less than this (and possibly right on the line of 300) but it's hard to say as the ground is uneven where the builders did earthworks during the extension.
Edit: just to add the patio is nowhere near 50% size of the garden, so we're ok on that front. Also, there is a beech hedge between us and the neighbour. Unfortunately, our gardener trimmed it before the patio work began, which makes it roughly eye level at the moment (when standing right on the edge of the patio). In a year or so I would expect it to have grown enough to address any potential privacy concerns.
Last edited:
