What you need Planning Permission for in your Garden

do i need planning permission for a shed

Gardens, mostly those at the rear of property, offer us a great diversity of options outside just a lawn and patio area. From outside office space to swimming pools, gardens are a great space in which we can add great value to our lifestyles from leisure to work.

Planning permission is the phrase used to cover the local authority’s consent to building work being carried out on property and on land within the community. You should be aware of what you can and can not do and when you are fully within your permitted (development) rights to carry on regardless of permission!

If we think about it for a few minutes, there is endless additions that we can add to our gardens to include ponds, water fountains, fences, sheds, summer houses, greenhouses, outbuildings, barns, chicken pens, solar panels, hot tubs, trees, patios, conservatories etc, etc, etc…

Let us take a look at some common questions people ask so to know if they need planning permission or not to add to their garden:

Sheds will in most situations be fine to erect in your garden without any planning permission.

Outbuildings will be a wider topic to cover though most importantly you will not be able to use them as self-contained accommodation. The internal size of the outbuilding must not exceed 30m2, it can not be greater than 50% of the plot surrounding the property, no higher than 2.5m if less than 2m away from the boundary and 4m in height if more than 2m away from the boundary. If you are to construct a brick built large outbuilding you are advised to check your local planning department to see if planning permission will be required.

How high can a garden fence be is a common question asked and this is quite limitless in fact if you so wish though you need to remember that you need no planning for a fence up to 2m with anything beyond that requiring planning permission. If you are thinking about front garden fences, restrictions state that fences alongside a driveway can be a maximum of 1m or 3ft (source thesun.co.uk)

Adding a pond to your garden, even if small and shallow, by way of machinery excavation may be defined as an engineering operation which may require planning permission. If you have a pond in your garden and it leaks onto neighbouring land you will be responsible for any damage or loss suffered as a consequence of the leak (source inbrief.co.uk).

For new trees the rule to remember is that under the Rights of Light Act, if a window has received natural light for 20 years or more, you and your neighbours can’t block it with a new tree (source mirror.co.uk)

Outdoor swimming pools, surprisingly so, will in most cases not require planning permission unless: You are in an area of outstanding natural beauty / green belt / listed building / a conservation area. If you do come under one of these categories then contact your planning office for advice.

Can I keep livestock in my garden? Here you must apply for a CPH number from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). This must be done before moving livestock onto the land. More information can be found on the Government’s website here.

Title image: Pixabay

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

You May Also Enjoy

Estate Agent Talk

Judy Garland’s Home: She Bought It the Same Year She Was Signed To Star in ‘The Wizard of Oz’

One of LA’s classic celebrity homes has just come on the market. The Bel-Air home that Judy Garland bought in 1938 – the same year she was signed to star in The Wizard of Oz – is for sale at $11.5 million. Built by architect-to-the-stars Wallace Neff, who also designed homes for Mary Pickford and…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News – 18/03/24

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   x+why revolutionise sustainable workspace design with launch of whydesign  Press Release London, 18th March 2024: Leading flexible workspace specialist x+why is launching a new in-house award-winning design team, whydesign, focused on customising sustainable and design-led office spaces. whydesign will support businesses in the optimisation of workspaces to…
Read More
Home and Living

Cultivating Space For A Workshop: A Handy Mini-Guide

There are all manner of reasons to purchase a commercial space or to renovate part of your home into a production environment, but the requirements for disparate outcomes will differ depending on the person. For example, a photography studio may only require capable lighting and enough staging room to be functional, and may not require…
Read More
Love or Hate Rightmove
Breaking News

Rightmove House Price Index: Stronger buyer demand and sales as market marches into Spring

The average price of newly marketed properties rises by 1.5% (+£5,279) this month to £368,118, higher than the historic average March increase of 1.0% and the biggest for 10 months as the market continues its recovery after a muted 2023 The positive start to the year continues, paving the way for a greater number of…
Read More
Breaking News

Weekly News Roundup – 15/03/24

A roundup of the week’s top property and proptech news stories in partnership with Proptech-X   Inventory Base & Street Group partner to make agents more profitable Inventory Base, the UK’s leading property inspection software provider, and Street.co.uk, a pioneering estate agency software and CRM, are proud to announce an integration partnership that promises to drive…
Read More
Commercial Agent Talk

The Essential Tips to Secure the Ideal Spot for Your Dream Office

Imagine a workspace that perfectly complements your team’s work style and fosters creativity and productivity. That’s the magic of a dream office! But turning that vision into reality can feel daunting. Securing the ideal location in New Jersey involves navigating a maze of considerations, from finding the right neighborhood to pinpointing must-have features and amenities.…
Read More