Loft Converters – Attic Extension – Planning Permission

Planning Permission

Great news for homeowners

Changes to the planning laws from 1st October 2008 mean that most attic extensions and ground floor conversions will be possible without planning permission, says Loft Converters Modern Attics. Under the revised General Development Order homeowners are entitled to extend the roof with the addition of a dormer(s), or hip to gable, by 40 cubic metres for a terraced house, or 50 cubic metres for a semi-detached or detached property. This is known as the permitted development allowance.

This is a major relaxation to the previous rule which dictated that the volume of any other extensions had to be deducted from the above cubic volume allowances to calculate the size of any proposed roof extension. In many cases this meant that many loft conversions could not be built to their full potential.

There are still a number of exceptions to the permitted development allowance. All flats and maisonettes, whether conversions or purpose built, will always need planning permission for loft conversions and attic extensions. If your property is listed or located within a conservation area, or the height of the roof is being increased, or any dormer faces the front, then planning permission will be required. This will mean that your loft proposals must be designed to meet the Council’s policy design guidelines which may restrict or limit the options that would be available to you under the permitted development allowances.

For those conversions that can be built within the permitted allowance, we still apply to the Council to certify that your proposals do not need planning permission. They will issue a lawful development certificate which will be an important document to prove to any subsequent owner of the property that the roof alterations to the property do not need planning consent.

Loft converters Modern Attics carry out attic extensions in parts of London including West Hampstead, Mill Hill, St Marylebone, Colindale, Acton, Hammersmith, and Finchley, North London.