Which rear wall?

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Hi

First post, please be gentle.

We live in a new build detached house that has an attached garage (bedroom above)

I am wanting to build an extension onto the back of the garage which will extend the dining room.

The back of the garage is 2M short of the back of the main house. the extension will be the same width as the garage (3M) and 5M long, however this will only extend the back of wall of the house proper by 3M.

I am confused by the phrase

Maximum depth of a single-storey rear extension of three metres beyond the rear wall for an attached house and four metres beyond the rear wall for a detached house.

So the question is what constitutes the rear wall in this case, the rear of the garage or the rear of the house?

Thanks for any help

Chris
 
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If I read your situation right you have two options:

You could build a side extension which can project 4 metres beyond the rear wall of the house. In other words you could build an extension 6m in length. But being a side extension, if it's within 2m of the boundary you would be limited to 3m in height.

If the 3m height restriction is a problem the alternative is to build a rear wall extension to your garage which would then allow you to build 4m high but would limit you to 4m in length - i.e. 2m beyond the rear wall of your house.

Bear in mind there might be other factors to take account of as well.
 
I believe you are just asking about permitted devlopments, i.e. those that do not require planning permission. If what you want to do is not within the permitted development particulars, you just need to apply for planning permission. Whether you get it or not will be down to your planning department.

As Jeds has illustrated, it is not just the ground dimensions you need to be thinking about, but the height of the extension.

The phrase refers to the rear wall of the house. Edit: -Err... perhaps not, I'm not so sure on this myself now I've seen freddies post below!

This may help interactive guide to planning
 
Thanks for taking the time to answer Jeds

The extension is going to be 1M away from the boundary (as is the existing garage).

Its a flat roofed extension 2.4M in height, with a glass skylight, which I guess will have to be no taller than 60cm to fall within the 3M limit.

So Im guessing that it should fall within permitted development and not need planning permission (and the extra expense involved in such)

I shall check again with the local authority (Selby) as so far I have 2 different answers from 2 different advisors, as well as all I have read on the web on the subject.

It's down to what they class as the back of the house, hence the question.

Cheers again
 
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Hi Chris,

An important question for you to check - does your property definitely have permitted development rights ... ? Many properties granted planning permission in the last 40 years don't have PD rights, because they are often removed by a condition on the original planning permission.

If your property does have PD rights, then it's still not clear. If the rear wall of the garage constitutes "a rear wall of the original dwellinghouse" (which it probably does, particularly as it's two-storey) then any extension would not be able to project more than 4m to the rear of the rear wall fo the garage (so only 2m to the rear of the main rear wall). This 4m rear limitation applies regardless of whether the extension would be referred to as a rear extension or a side extension. In addition, if the 2m length of side wall constitutes "a wall forming a side elevation of the original dwellinghouse" (which is perhaps less certain, particularly given its relatively limited length), then the 1/2 width side projection limit would also apply.

If your property does have PD rights, then make sure you apply to the Council for a certificate of lawfulness prior to starting any works. PD legislation is relatively unclear, particularly with inverted corners such as your situation, and the only way you can be certain that your extension is lawful before starting works is such a certificate.

Steve
 
If what you want to do is not within the permitted development particulars, you just need to apply for planning permission. Whether you get it or not will be down to your planning department.
Not quite Blagard old bean, if the proposed development adheres to the councils policies and guidelines they will have no reason to refuse it.

@milkmanchris listen to lpasengland and confirm you retain PD rights. You may find this useful: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/100806_PDforhouseholders_TechnicalGuidance.pdf
 
Thanks for taking the time to answer Jeds

The extension is going to be 1M away from the boundary (as is the existing garage).

Its a flat roofed extension 2.4M in height, with a glass skylight, which I guess will have to be no taller than 60cm to fall within the 3M limit.

So Im guessing that it should fall within permitted development and not need planning permission (and the extra expense involved in such)

I shall check again with the local authority (Selby) as so far I have 2 different answers from 2 different advisors, as well as all I have read on the web on the subject.

It's down to what they class as the back of the house, hence the question.

Cheers again

The confusion is between a side wall extension or a rear wall extension. A side wall extension could extend 4m beyond the rear wall but a rear wall extension to the garage would be restricted to the 4m. Technically your proposal isn't side wall because of the garage but it is an anomoly so the LA may be ok with it. There are certainly a number of appeals where this configuration has been allowed so it might be worth looking a couple out to use as support when you speak with the planner.
 
Cheers Guys for the advice

Freddy, the link you sent is most helpful, and (sort of) confirms that planning permission would need t be sought.

Jeds, thanks again, I am going to speak with the planners on Monday, and try nail them down. After speaking with an architect to today he informs me that Selby council charge for written confirmation if the project is PD, and can take up to 8 weeks to decide such. I might as well just go down the route of applying.

Now to get some drawings done for the application, another minefield.

Thanks again guys
 
I might as well just go down the route of applying.
This is one of those very grey areas so that ls probably the sensible route. Best to apply for full planning rather than a certificate of lawfulness. A certificate would be automatically refused if they decide it's not lawful where a planning app could be allowed.
 

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