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Want to apply for planning permission to build a shed/office in the garden of a house without normal building rights and within the normal limit of the boundary.
Can we do the drawings ourselves or is it best to pay someone to organise this for us? The council's planning portal is an absolute nightmare of information/duplication/broken links and god knows what else.
If we can do the drawings, how detailed do they need to be and how what views need to be included?
Lastly if i add windows to the shed, or the size of the doors, or change the cladding style, will i be in breach of the planning?
Thanks
Joe
Sounds like Permitted Development Rights are removed where you are? Use the Planning Portal to complete forms and upload plans. Plans have to be scaled (1:50 or 1:100). Need to show floor plan and each elevation, probably also a roof plan. If you can use sketch-up, you could do it. Don't forget an OS plan (1:1250) and a block plan at say 1:500. Various websites sell OS base plans. There's no need for foundation details or structural details for planning.
If you get PP, the decision notice will require you to build the shed in accordance with the approved plans. What you do after that is governed by normal planning rules or specific conditions on the Decision Notice.
There should be a tick list on the council website, including all the drawings they want. As above some need to be at a specific scale. They don't need to be professionally drawn, just neat and clear. If your particular council website is rubbish then have a look at another, they won't have vastly different requirements. Also look at completed, approved applications of similar projects for a guide of what is acceptable. It's pretty easy to DIY and if you make a technical mistake then they should let you tweak it. As for changing the design along the way, you would be in breach. Whether that is a problem depends. Nobody will come and look at what you build unless a neighbour complains. Even then they won't do anything for minor differences. Don't put dimensions on doors so you'll get a bit of leeway on final sizes. All you really need is overall dims and distance to adjacent buildings.
I just do the drawings in Powerpoint using the built in ruler to make sure they're to scale.
I’ve seen hand drawn sketches submitted and approved including one where they had just drawn on a photograph.
You must build what’s been approved so if you want a window then show a window on the drawing. Any deviation from the approved drawings can come back and bite you, sometimes years down the line.
Chesterfield Borough Council for example absolutely do (or did) visit all completed schemes to check for compliance. The compliance officer was a right whatever as well.