Guides - Considering a project?

We have put together three helpful guides below which give an overview of the key things to consider for some common types of planning project you may have in mind.

1. Guidance on house extension design and planning

Extending your home is a very exciting project, but one which raises many questions when starting to consider your options and what you may be able to secure consent for. 

Firstly it pays to be honest with yourself about what you need and can afford as construction is a very expensive activity, and the greatest control you have over your budget of the outer shell is size, every m2 costs. There is little merit is securing planning consent for something which will never be built once builders quotes arrive or that you can't afford to complete internally. 

Planning or permitted development?

Often it is possible to create a great extension without the need to apply for planning consent if you stick within certain size parameters, saving the cost of application fees and reducing the time you will need to wait to begin your project. To get an understanding of these size parameters, check out this interactive guide.

Size is the biggest variable you can control in your budget for the shell.

Consider your neighbours 

Not the actual person but a theoretical occupant, and think how they would feel about these issues.

• Overlooking
• Their window positions
• Right to view
• Right to light
• Can it be built without denying your neighbours access, use of drains passing under your land?

They have one like that down the street, so I must be allowed the same surely?

All planning consents to extend a building are judged on their own merits at the time they were submitted.  It is very difficult to find two scenarios which are exactly the same, sometimes subtle variations in the position of neighbouring buildings, windows or distances from boundaries play their part in defining two similar looking proposals. Therefore the presence of similar exyensions in the local area is not a guarantee that your application will be automatically supported by the local authority planning department. There is also of course the possibility that the neighbour in question didn't lawfully extend their property at the time! 

How close to the boundary can you build?

Whilst it is possible to build on the boundary line between properties there are practical considerations to take into account. For example your builder needs to be able to excavate deep foundations and build the wall in the trench safely without damaging your neighbours land or buildings or themselves. One built, remember the need to clean windows and gutters, which can be difficult in confinded spaces. Gutters should not overhang the boundary onto your neighbours land, if they do you will need to serve notice on your neighbour when applying for planning permission.

Where is the boundary?

This might sound like an easy question, but sometimes it is not so straight forward.

Amenity

The earth is not flat

I have read online that extensions cost £1000 per square metre, is this correct?

This has been an online cost yardstick per m2 for domestic construction for many years, so many years in fact that inflation has now rendered it unfeasible. The biggest variable in project costings will undoubtedly be the builder, their labour rates, efficiency and ability to source keen prices. It pays to get comparable quotes.

Further formal guidance on house extension design for residents of County Durham can be found here

A full list of common domestic projects which may need planning can be found here

2. Guidance on building signage and outdoor advertisements

If you want to erect, change or alter a shop advert, fascia or projecting sign you will need to consider its design carefully to fetermin if a planning application is required or not.

All advertisements and signs throughout our environment require an advertisement planning application to the local planning authority if they fall outside of the criteria making them automatically permitted known as “deemed consent” or are of a type not controlled by planning.

Examples of signs and adverts not contolled by planning are

• Advertisements displayed on enclosed land, such as inside a covered train station platform
• Advertisements displayed on or in any vehicle or which is normally moving
• Non illuminated advertisements in the form of price tickets or markers, trade-names on branded goods, or adverts displayed on petrol pumps or vending machines (subject to size limits).
• Traffic signs, such as speed limit, give way sign etc
• The national flag of any country may be flown, so long as it does not have anything added to the design of the flag or any advertising material added to the flagstaff.
• Advertisements displayed inside a building, such as behind the glass of a shop window, as long as they are not illuminated or displayed within one metre of any window or other external opening through which they can be seen from outside the building

Outside of the above categories many traditional, non-illuminated fascia signs and hanging signs are likely to benefit from deemed consent (i.e not require a planning application) if they meet a number of conditions and limitations such as their size.

This is a rather complicated subject as there are a total of 16 categories of signs and adverts which, subject to limits, benefit from not needing an application to be submitted.  These categories of signs not needing an application are:

Class 1, including: 

• ‘Functional advertisements’ by public bodies, for example bus stops or public transport timetables.

Class 2 including: 

• Miscellaneous advertisements on any premises, for example your house number and small signs under 0.3m2 for identification  or warning such as "beware of the dog" 
• Business names on a building using small signs under 0.3m2 (for example a sign 1m wide by 30cm tall)
• Notices and signs for any any religious, educational, cultural, recreational, medical or institution, hotel, inn or public house, block of flats, club, boarding-house or hostel provided that the advertisement is displayed at the premises and does not exceed 1.2 square metres in area. There are height limits on the size of lettering and illumination is permitted only if it is intended to indicate that medical or similar services or supplies are available at the premises.

Class 3 including:

• Temporary advertisements such as estate agents signs, or charity/community event. Note that time restrictions apply to events and there are different detailed controls for advertising a "commercial" event including size of lettering. if a Class 3 advertisement relates to a sale or event, it must not be displayed more than 28 days before the sale or event begins and must be removed within 14 days after it ends.

Class 4 including:

• The display of small to medium advertisements for business premises outside of conservation areas with either internally illuminated letters or characters on an unilluminated background or lit by ‘halo’ illumination subject to size and location limits, such as 0.75m2 area for a projecting sign.

Class 5 including:

• Consent for a wide variety of notices, signs and advertisements, subject to size and height limits, which draw attention to any commercial services, goods for sale, or any other services available at the premises where the advertisement is being displayed. ‘Business premises’ means any building in which a professional, commercial or industrial activity is being carried on, or any commercial services are being provided for the public. This term would include office buildings, banks and building societies, shops, supermarkets, theatres, cinemas, vehicle showrooms and garages, restaurants and cafes. Class 5 is not intended to permit all forms of outdoor advertising on any business premises. For example an advertisement permitted by Class 5 must not have any letters, figures or symbols in the design over 0.75 of a metre in height, or 0.3 of a metre in height if they are in any Area of Special Control of Advertisements.

Class 6 including:

• Advertisements on forecourts of business premises (such as petrol stations or cafe terraces) subject to size limits. Class 6 gives a further consent to display the type of advertisement permitted by Class 5, namely notices, signs and advertisements to draw attention to any commercial services, goods for sale, or other services available at the premises.

Class 7 including:

• Some flag advertisements for building occupiers subject to size limits, flags however are not permitted to advertise products, unless they have the planning authority’s specific consent. Examples include the display of advertising flags at housebuilding sites and where new houses remain available for sale.

Class 8 including:

• Advertisements on hoardings around temporary construction sites subject to size limits and for up to 3 years

Class 9 including:

• Non illuminated advertisements displayed on purpose-designed highway structures such as a bus shelter or information kiosk, subject to size limits.

Class 10 including:

• Outdoor signs for a closed circuit television surveillance scheme or a Neighbourhood Watch and other Watch schemes.

Class 11 including:

• permission for housebuilding firms to put up temporary directional signs, telling potential housebuyers and other visitors how to reach a site where new residential development is taking place.

Class 12 including:

•  advertisements displayed inside buildings

Class 13 including:

• advertisements on sites used for the preceding ten years for displaying advertisements

Class 14 including:

• advertisements displayed after the expiry of planning consentt (usually five years) and for which the planning authority has not forbidden any further display of that advertisement, or refused an application for its renewed display.

Class 15 including:

• Captive balloons advertisements which may be displayed if it is not more than 60 metres above the ground or for more than 10 days in any calendar year and not in any Area of Special Control of Advertisements,National Park, Area of Outstanding National Beauty,Conservation Area or the Broads. Although captive balloon advertisements displayed at a height of more than 60 metres above ground level may be displayed, they are subject to the civil aviation controls and you must obtain the Civil Aviation Authority’s consent before you fly any balloon at a height of more than 60 metres.

Class 16 including:

• advertisements on telephone kiosks

If your sign falls outside of the specifics of any category you need planning permission which is why it is critically important to check the size of signs and lettering before you have them made if you wish to avoid a planning application or enforcement action in the future.  

Other adverts and signs that do not fall within the above categories do not benefit from "deemed consent" and will require express advertisement consent from the local planning authority by way of an 8 week planning application with drawings of the proposals. If the building is listed you will also require Listed Building Consent.

Some signs and adverts will always need a planning application, these include:

• fascia signs and projecting signs on shop-fronts or business premises where the top edge of the sign is more than 4.6 metres above ground level 
• some illuminated signs
• most advertisements on gable-ends. 
• virtually all posters 

When designing your sign or advert it pays to check the regulations carefully and afford specific attention to:

How large is the sign, how large are the letters and how high will it be from the ground. 

When applying for consent for larger illuminated signs the manufacturer will need to specify the brightness in Lumens.

Read 'Outdoor advertisements and signs: a guide for advertisers' here for a detailed explanation of each categorys limits and special conditions.

3. Guidance on new individual dwellings

Where is your plot?

The country is a difficult place to secure consent as most housing development contravenes national planning policy 

The earth is not flat, underbuild, accessibility etc

Guidance on measuring, height and topography (land form)

Size of site, height of surrounding buildings?

Access - is there an existing gate or drive onto the site, is their good visibility and a safe section of main road for access and egress? 

Services - is there mains drainage, gas, water and power to the site, are they available nearby?  If there is no mains drainage for example a septic tank (package treatment plant) will be required on the development site.

Distance to other buildings

Size of garden left once a house and access has been placed on the site

Height of surroundings

4. Links to to other helpful official online guides:

Planning Portal interactive guidance series on house extensions

Map of Durham Conservation Areas

Federation of Master Builders guide to extensions

Durham County Council Planning

UK Guide to outdoor advertisements and signs

Historic England Search