New permitted development rules are good for planning
May 30, 2019
Under new permitted development rules, homeowners in terraced and semi-detached homes will be able to put single story extensions of up to 6 metres at the rear of their properties without needing to obtain planning permission. Those in detached homes will be able to extend by up to 8 metres.
Kit Malthouse, housing minister, said: “These measures will help families extend their properties without battling through time-consuming red tape.” However, Cllr Martin Tett, planning spokesperson for the Local Government Association (LGA), expressed concerns about undermining local planning departments.
The National Federation of Builders (NFB) welcomes this policy and encourages the Government to do more to relieve the workload that planning departments currently face across the country.
The greatest barrier to building the right homes in the right places is the planning system, where 42% of minor residential planning applications and 75% of major are subject to extension of time requests, environmental impact assessments or performance agreements.
Since 2009, local communities have also seen the size of housing sites increase by 17%, which has shifted the focus away from small sites and infill within existing communities.
Richard Beresford, chief executive of the NFB, said: “We welcome changes to permitted development allowing existing homes to be more easily extended. This decision will help growing families stay in their homes and build for their future, instead of having to move out of town to find appropriate housing.”
Rico Wojtulewicz, head of housing and planning policy for the House Builders Association (HBA), said: “Despite developers agreeing to pay more for it, the planning process remains complicated, expensive and unpredictable. This permitted development reform with give planners more time to grant permissions for the right homes in the right places and encourage them to focus on allocating more small sites within existing communities.”
You May Also Enjoy
Mould and damp – what you need to know ahead of winter
With the winter months just round the corner, problems with damp and mould can become far more prominent. Autumntime is when many people turn on central heating systems and choose to close windows, preventing fresh air ventilation needed to allow damp air to leave a property. Unfortunately, the combination of warm and damp air can…
Read More 
Rental price and average salary tracker – September 2025
London and South East see biggest dips in required rental salary year-on-year London and the South East saw the sharpest dips year-on-year in the average salary needed in order to rent the average home in that area. London saw a 4.2% drop, whilst the South East saw a decline of 2.9%. Yorkshire and Humberside saw…
Read More 
The cities where buying beats renting – with just a 5% deposit
British first-time buyer mortgage payments are typically 17% cheaper than renting, even with a low 5% deposit The average 5% deposit is £11,412 based on a typical first-time buyer property price of £228,233 Among major cities outside London, the biggest gap between owning and renting is in Glasgow, where buyers could save more than £4,750…
Read More 
Rightmove’s Weekly Mortgage Rates Tracker
Average rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed-rate mortgages Term Average rate Weekly change Yearly change 2-year fixed 4.51% +0.00% -0.37% 5-year fixed 4.55% +0.01% +0.01% Lowest rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed-rate mortgages Term Lowest rate Weekly change Yearly change 2-year fixed 3.77% +0.05% -0.07% 5-year fixed 3.97% +0.10% +0.29% Average…
Read More
Data and commentary from Rightmove on stamp duty reforms
Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert said: “We’ve been calling for stamp duty reform for some time now, as it’s a significant barrier for many people moving home. Abolishing it completely would remove one of the biggest barriers to moving, unlocking more moves at all stages of the property ladder. “Our data shows that only 5%…
Read More 
Second-time buyers dominate demand for longer term fixed mortgage deals
Second-time buyers are dominating demand for longer term fixed mortgage deals, fresh data from Moneyfacts Analyser can reveal. Of those looking for fixed term deals on moneyfactscompare.co.uk: Almost two-thirds (58%) of second-time buyers who compared mortgage deals using the moneyfactscompare.co.uk website were considering terms of three years or longer in the 30 days to 1…
Read More