Victorian Terrace - 45 Degree rule queries

[Brett]

Good morning all.

 

At the start of lockdown i moved in with my partner who lives in a 2 bed Victorian terrace. I myself have 2 children from a previous relationship and we are expecting a baby in the summer time so naturally we are looking to turn this amazing house into our dream family house. I also have cerebral palsy and find the current config limiting at times - EG kitchen too small, bathroom on ground floor only etc.

 

We have secured the funds and have had the initial measurements done, i am just soooo confused about this 45degree rule.....

 

as you can see from the attached pictures and docs, there has always been a length of building to the back of the house which contains the kitchen and bathroom and next door have the same as well as its standard on Victorian terraces. Where does the 45 degree angle start from as there are windows all along the bit at the back and if it is actually taken from the back of the house then the 45 degree rule has already been broken? I just don't know where we stand....

 

We are hoping to extend into the side return but also the 1st floor (not full width because of windows etc in bedroom 2 but enough for a bathroom and 3rd bedroom. I just cannot figure out if this is possible.

 

Any help is appreciated here.

 

Brett.

[Mike]

The 45° 'rule', if there is one, will be a local planning policy. Your council should have information explaining how they apply it - you may need to ask if you can't find it on their website.

[SuperPav]

The implementation of any 45 deg rule will be down to the local authority - they do differ, although the "standard" application would mean you cannot come out the full length on the upper storey. The ground floor return should be less of an issue but again depends on the local guidelines.

 

If you want to extend the first floor, I would suggest that your best bet is to do it together with #10 next door, these applications tend to be viewed more favourably in my experience.

 

Alternatively if anyone has recently got permission for a "one-sided" upper floor extension on or around your terrace recently, you can always ask the council about recreating a similar scheme - it looks like the house cropped to the very left of the photo has a modest (bathroom?) 1st floor extension, but it doens't go the full length.

[Brett]

On 21/01/2022 at 13:59, SuperPav said:

The implementation of any 45 deg rule will be down to the local authority - they do differ, although the "standard" application would mean you cannot come out the full length on the upper storey. The ground floor return should be less of an issue but again depends on the local guidelines.

 

If you want to extend the first floor, I would suggest that your best bet is to do it together with #10 next door, these applications tend to be viewed more favourably in my experience.

 

Alternatively if anyone has recently got permission for a "one-sided" upper floor extension on or around your terrace recently, you can always ask the council about recreating a similar scheme - it looks like the house cropped to the very left of the photo has a modest (bathroom?) 1st floor extension, but it doens't go the full length.

 

Number 10 is rented so i know they wouldn't do that but they are pretty happy with it last side.

 

looks like we may have some issues with the 1st floor, however, a house 4 doors up has done theirs in the last 7 years so we may get lucky.

 

Yes the house to the left does, and most of the others on our road the other side have the same thing. Does that set a precedence or does it not work like that? 

[SuperPav]

There are ways to do it and I've previously secured planning in conservation areas for things that may not fall 100% within the "standard" guidelines, but it becomes quite specific to the site and any constraints, as well as which local planning authority you're in, so more details required.

 

I'm happy to have a quick (free!) look if you PM me and don't want to post all the last details publicly, although the more info you give us the more we can help you as a community.

The good news is that there will always be SOME solution to any problem you identify, and the community here has as much a breadth and depth of knowledge as you could hope for!:)

 

The other thing to bear in mind is the usual love it or list it (or both) decision here - how much value can you add to your terrace and how much will it cost?