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Planning applications

Permitted development and prior approval

Plenty of projects don't need full planning permission at all. We check what your property can do under permitted development, and handle prior approval where it's needed.

Benjamin Plunkett, Managing Director
✓Free home visit ✓No obligation ✓Honest advice ✓Fixed price Ben, our Managing Director and Planning & Heritage Consultant, will visit your property anywhere in our six council areas.
📞 Call 01206 656027 or book online →
Planning drawings for a coach house conversion

What permitted development is

Permitted development rights allow certain building work without a planning application, within strict limits. Typical examples include some:

  • Single-storey rear extensions
  • Loft conversions and rear dormers
  • Outbuildings and garden rooms
  • Porches
  • Solar panels

The limits depend on the size and position of the work, the type of house and its location.

When the rights don't apply

Permitted development rights are reduced or removed for:

  • Listed buildings
  • Properties in conservation areas, National Landscapes (formerly AONBs) and other protected areas
  • Flats and maisonettes
  • Homes where an earlier planning permission or an Article 4 direction removed the rights

Prior approval

Some permitted development needs prior approval from the council before you build, including larger single-storey rear extensions and some changes of use, such as agricultural buildings to homes under Class Q. The council checks specific issues, and neighbours can comment.

How we help

We check your property's planning history and designations, confirm what's possible, and prepare drawings that stay within the limits. For certainty, especially if you're selling later, we recommend a lawful development certificate.

Benjamin PlunkettCharlie Plunkett

Who'll handle your project: Benjamin Plunkett, our Managing Director and Planning & Heritage Consultant, is your point of contact from the first site visit to the decision. Charlie Plunkett MCIAT produces the drawings.

About us
Recent projects

Planning Applications projects

See more
3D view of the mid-century style rear extension
Extension Babergh

Mid-century style extension and recladding of a home in Elmsett

A single-storey extension, new windows and cedar and off-white cladding that give a mid-century chalet bungalow in Elmsett a fresh retro-modern look.
The weatherboarded building from the garden
Change of use Tendring

Office to three-bedroom home by prior approval in Tendring

A prior approval for converting a weatherboarded office building into a three-bedroom detached home with parking and a large garden in Tendring.
Proposed front elevation with cream render gable and brick ground floor
Extension Tendring

Raised roof and two-storey rear extension

A dated bungalow redesigned as a family home, reworked point by point after an earlier refusal.
Street elevation with a bay window, balcony and gabled dormer
Change of use Lowestoft

Change of use from offices to an eight-bedroom HMO

Planning permission to convert a three-storey office and training building in Lowestoft into an eight-bedroom house of multiple occupation.
The front of the townhouse before work, with its carport and garage
Extension Ipswich

Rear extension and garage conversion for a three-storey townhouse

A single-storey rear extension with a roof lantern and a garage conversion, creating a large open living space for a townhouse in Ipswich.
Front of the new bungalow, with black weatherboarding, a red tiled roof and an oak porch
New build Tendring

A single-storey three-bedroom home in a rural setting

A new three-bedroom bungalow in Ardleigh, with black weatherboarding, a red tiled roof and an oak porch, approved by Tendring District Council.
Questions

Frequently asked questions

How big can I extend without planning permission?

Under permitted development, a single-storey rear extension can generally project up to 3 metres from the original house (4 metres for a detached house), or up to 6 and 8 metres under the prior approval route. There are further limits on height, width and materials, and these rules can change, so we always check the current rules for your property.

Do I need building regulations even if it's permitted development?

Usually, yes. Permitted development only covers planning. Building regulations are a separate approval.

Benjamin Plunkett, Managing Director
Free home visit

Thinking about a project?

Ben, our Managing Director and Planning & Heritage Consultant, will come to you, look at the property and tell you honestly what's likely to get approved. Free, with no obligation, anywhere in Tendring, Babergh, Colchester, Braintree, Maldon and Ipswich districts.

Planning consultants and chartered designers in one team: drawings designed to get approved, with the same people from site visit to decision.

Book a free home visit → Call 01206 656027
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