

As a homeowner, you may be looking to add space and value to your property. Adding a conservatory is thought to increase the value of a property between 5-10%
This can make a conservatory a worthwhile financial investment, and also grant you some extra living room. Win-win!
If you’ve ended up on this post, you may well have been pondering the question, “Do you need planning permission for a conservatory?”.
Well, ponder no more. I will outline the planning regulations around conservatories for you.
Same Rules As Any Extension
The headline rule is that adding a conservatory falls under the same regulations as adding a single story extension to your property.
If you have not already read our Planning Permission vs. Permitted Development it may be worth checking out to help understand the difference between those two planning terms.
Therefore, if you are looking to add a conservatory to your property it can be achieved using permitted development rights. However to achieve this, what you are proposing to build needs to comply with certain conditions:
- The conservatory cannot extend beyond a wall comprised in the principal elevation of the original dwellinghouse.
- No more than 50% of the area of land around the original house can be covered by a conservatory.
- The conservatory cannot be higher than the height of the eaves of the existing dwellinghouse.
- If your conservatory is located within 2 metres of a boundary of your house, the eaves height of the conservatory cannot exceed 3 metres.
- Conservatories are not permitted development within the curtilage of a listed building.
- The length and height of your conservatory must not exceed 4 metres.
- For side conservatories, the width of your conservatory cannot be more than half of the width of the original dwellinghouse.
- Side conservatories have additional restrictions on size in conservation areas, national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty or World Heritage Sites. They may extend from the side elevation of the original dwellinghouse by no more than 3 metres and must be set back from the principal elevation of the original dwellinghouse by at least 1 metre.
Grand Designs?
If your conservatory hopes are larger in scale than the constraints described above you would be required to submit a full planning application.
In addition to that, if you are looking to add a conservatory to a listed building, listed building consent may be required.
Other Considerations
Not all areas in England have the same permitted development rights
For instance, there are protected areas known as article 2(3) land, which cover:
- conservation areas
- Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- National Parks
- the Broads
- World Heritage Sites
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/when-is-permission-required
Restrictive Covenants
New build properties can sometimes contain restrictive covenants to prevent alterations to the buildings over a fixed period of time. For example 5 years from the time of purchase.
Such covenants can be mitigated occasionally simply with written consent.
Get in Touch For Help
If you are interested in adding a conservatory to your house, or require some planning permission help with a more complex conservatory project.
Please get in touch using the contact form and we can discuss your options.
FAQs
No, often permitted development will suffice
The ‘prior approval’ process only applies to larger single-storey rear extensions.
This is defined as extending beyond the rear wall of the original house* by:
over four and up to eight metres for detached houses; and
over three and up to six metres for all other houses
Michelle Hill MRTPI
As a leading planning consultant I can help with the topics covered in this post. Contact me and I can find you a solution to your planning problem.