Do I need planning permission for converting my Garrage ?

[Achu]

Hi thanks for accepting my request.

I am going through a very difficult time now. I have stated converting my Garrage on last year November and almost 90 % of the work is completed.I have done all the jobs according to the building regulations requirements and was in touch with them on each stages.

I have received a letter form the planning team yesterday and says like this 

It has been brought to the attention of the Council, through the submission of a Building Control application, that vou are in the process of converting your garage to habitable accommodation. I must advise that, due to condition 4 of planning approval HU/223/81 (the planning approval that permitted the build of your property), planning approval is required for such a conversion. Condition 4 states:

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning General Development Order

1977-81 the garage and car spaces shown on the submitted plan shall be reserved solely for parking purposes and not work shall be undertaken for their conversion to habitable accommodation.

I can find no evidence of planning permission being either sought or granted for the conversion and I must therefore advise that it constitutes a breach of planning control. In order to seek to regularise this breach of planning control you will need to submit a retrospective planning application for the conversion.

The relevant forms and guidance on the appropriate plans and fee can be found on the Council's website. I ask that an application to regularise this matter is submitted within 21 days of the date of this letter. It must be emphasised that, in inviting this application, the authority is not committing itself to any particular

Can someone please advise me what to do ?

I was been told by all the builders who ever I contacted said I don’t need planning permission just need building regulations.

I am having sleepless nights now.

kind regards 

Achu 

 

[Marvin]

Have you looked up the original planning permission for your property: reference

6 minutes ago, Achu said:

HU/223/81

?

[Achu]

How can I check it?

Thanks 

[Marvin]

Your local council planning department. Some records are held in files in the offices, some are on the Internet.

 

I would also look at properties near by and see if anyone else has converted their garage. You can then check planning on line for that.

 

Also how did the external appearance change?

 

 

[Achu]

Yes there are two houses near to my house converting their Garrage.( same road) 

nothing has changed structurally all the changes are internally. We have added a window and a door and also a toilet and shower inside.

[ProDave]

1 hour ago, Achu said:

Yes there are two houses near to my house converting their Garrage.( same road) 

nothing has changed structurally all the changes are internally. We have added a window and a door and also a toilet and shower inside.

"Beds in sheds"

[Jilly]

Don’t panic. Garage conversions usually/ often fall within ‘permitted development’ and therefore doesn’t need planning permission, but there are exceptions (look at the planning conditions associated with your house, it may say certain PD righted have been removed. The fact they have invited you to apply for retrospective (in the application you put brackets around what has been already built on the heading) means it sounds promising. Also you can go to appeal, so you have loads of time. You’ll need drawings but might well be able to use your BC drawings to save money. It’s likely to be quite straightforward if you haven’t increased the footprint. You might have to explain about parking and then that you don’t need the garage or some such. It would be good to speak to the neighbours who have done it and find out what they did/didn’t do.

[saveasteading]

There may well be planning conditions applying to a property or an area, forbidding conversion of a garage, or at least requiring approval. This would be because the garage is one of a required number of parking spaces, approved with the original permission.

ie if the garage is not available for parking, where does the car go? Plus, an extra room potentially requires another vehicle.

[Achu]

14 minutes ago, Jilly said:

Don’t panic. Garage conversions usually/ often fall within ‘permitted development’ and therefore doesn’t need planning permission, but there are exceptions (look at the planning conditions associated with your house, it may say certain PD righted have been removed. The fact they have invited you to apply for retrospective (in the application you put brackets around what has been already built on the heading) means it sounds promising. Also you can go to appeal, so you have loads of time. You’ll need drawings but might well be able to use your BC drawings to save money. It’s likely to be quite straightforward if you haven’t increased the footprint. You might have to explain about parking and then that you don’t need the garage or some such. It would be good to speak to the neighbours who have done it and find out what they did/didn’t do.

I appreciate the response, but I haven't enlarged the footprint. Our home is an end terrace, and I intend to park the car in our garden on the back side of the house. I hope that it won't be a problem because the kerb on that side is likewise low. I'm not sure if there is a problem with that. But I'm going to park my car there in the future. One more road that runs down the side of my house is a dead end and has only a few residences. 
Regarding the plan, I believed that it needed to be comprehensive and contain both the intended work and location layouts. 
Tomorrow, I'll call the council to get their advice.

[Canski]

I’ve seen 2 planning applications passed for the same recently within 6 doors of my project. 

[MikeGrahamT21]

Garage conversions fall under permitted development, so they've either been removed or there are some special conditions in your area. Looking at the wording, it seems that the original planning permission which was granted for the initial build of the property, removed the right to convert the garage without additional permissions.

 

You have little choice but to apply for retrospective planning permission and hope that its passed, but before you do, go and read the original planning application documents.

 

An alleged breach has been disclosed on the council site: https://public-access.horsham.gov.uk/public-access/enforcementDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=ROXOYLIJ0GB00

 

The old planning is pre-1990 so isn't digitised, but you can view it at the planning department apparently: 

• Outline; 3 terraced houses with integral garages and parking (From old Planning History)

  Ref. No: HU/223/81 | Status: Decided

 

 

 

[Achu]

Thank you so much for the reply. I didn’t know that it’s visible in the councils website.

I have contacted an architect/ surveyor and they are going to submit the relevant documents on behalf of me.

Also I have contacted the council’s planning department and they told me not to panic just submit a Planning application.

I Hope everything goes well.

will update here the outcome.

once again thank you so much 😊 

[Achu]

14 hours ago, Canski said:

I’ve seen 2 planning applications passed for the same recently within 6 doors of my project. 

Sorry you mean the house has 6 doors ? 

 

14 hours ago, Canski said:

I’ve seen 2 planning applications passed for the same recently within 6 doors of my project. 

 

[Marvin]

8 hours ago, Achu said:

Sorry you mean the house has 6 doors ? 

 

 

I think what was meant is that a property no more than 6 homes away from @Canski's home has gone through the same situation.