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Another Q for the hive mind, this sounds like a stupid question but I am trying to find out what the 'the rear wall of the original house' is defined as and how the rule for PD works.
Does it respect the shape of the rear wall as originally built or is it taken from the furthest out point in a straight line?
Specifically, our kitchen had a 2mish utility room plonked on the back ~half the width of the kitchen. The utility section back wall was the most rearward part of the house. The previous owners squared the kitchen off to in line with that rearmost wall (with planning).
Cheers in advance.
Ignore me, I found the tech guidance paper and it is totally clear (unlike the Planning Portal info).
'Where the original rear wall of a house is stepped, then each of these walls will form ‘the
rear wall of the original dwellinghouse’. In such cases, the limits on extensions apply to
any of the rear walls being extended beyond.'
I'm not up to date but I know there has been some dispute/different interpretation of stepped rears on houses and some councils were taking it from the rear most point, some following the stepped building line.
Worth checking multiple sources/info local to your area as I don't know if it has been resolved.
So what do you want to do - extend further back?
Because it sounds like the original rear wall was flat and has had an extension across half of it which has then been filled in.
We bought a house to flip that had an extension across half of it and we thought it was a simple PD job to fill it in - turns out we had to get planning.
I'll try and find some pics...
So this was the house as we bought it with am extension built on one half of the existing rear wall
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and we filled in the gap but put it in line with the extension that had been done next door
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For some reason, that I can't remember, we had to get planning. I would check with your planning department before assuming PD - just in case.
That looks really good!
We are looking at knocking down the existing extension and going out as far as we can. Ideally, we would go out two storeys as far as allowed to put in another bedroom and maybe shower room, then continue the single storey as far as we can get away with.
Trying to suss out what we can do under PD versus what we might get under planning versus what we want to spend versus what we can afford.
I'll try and knock a plan up to show what I mean but our plot is sort of a corner plot with overall land running across the house, our neighbours are front to back so we back onto one of their sides (if that makes any sense).
Neighbour to the side is higher up and has got approval for a huge single-storey extension that will be very visible from our lower down garden. If we were able to extend out to near the fence line our kitchen would then look out onto garden along width of the plot, which is longer than the length.
The rear wall of your house is the furthest point out as the house was originally built or as it stood on 1 July 1948 if it was built before then. If its since been extended then thats not the line to be going from.
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This - I want the orange bit as an extension. If we go even a little bit more out we end up with a useless corner of garden so ideally would go as close to fence line as allowed and neighbours will approve.
White bit back of house is the old utility, grey bit the extension to square off kitchen.
Yes Rockhopper is right.
Previous extensions don't become 'original walls' with time.
Gotcha, thanks both. Rear wall is both the utility and the rest of house in the shape it was when built.
Under PD I could therefore go out 8m from the whole original back wall (keeping the staggered bit with maybe another utility room) or 8m from the original back of kitchen / 6m from utility if wanted to square it off - and then tuck in a patio area.
Or assume planning, pick the best plans from another of these shape houses (three roads of them in the village, most extended and some extremely) and get it priced up.
Definitely speak to the planning dept.
PD sounds simple but isn't necessarily.
You may have an issue if the original wall was staggered. The little infill bit may need planning because it is a rear AND side extension. If you are then extending from that your new bit may need planning also. You may be better off claiming the original house was flat at the back then extending from there.
Yeh talk to planning about it and I'd aim to get a lawful development certificate for any plans.
For some reason, that I can’t remember, we had to get planning.
Height of the highest part of the extension I suspect - within 2m of the boundary. Long time since I had to work with domestic PD rights though and they've changed at various times.
Planning permission for an extension is about £200 - look at whats been done to similar houses nearby and talk to the planning department.
What you're asking for looks like it wouldn't be a problem but better to do what you really want if it's ok and not be restricted by what Permitted Development allows.
Yup looking into it and plotting it out in the garden confirms any distance we don't go back ends up being dead space up against a fence. That and wanting to go over some of it means planning is necessary.
Once we can I'll chat to the neighbour we back onto and see what they think. Our house being lower might help here.
Neighbour other side won't be impacted due to their pending extensions.
Other option is to go over the garage, although that is the sensible build for resale it doesn't give the living space we want without then losing the ground floor of the garage.