Permitted development rights

Home > > > > Permitted development rights

‘Permitted Development Rights’ allow for certain change of use and physical works to be undertaken without the need for planning permission. They are defined within National Legislation, primarily within the Town and Country Planning General Permitted Development Order 2015 (England) (As Amended).

Please note that these rights only relate to Planning Permission. They do not relate to listed building consent and advertisement consent. They can also be reduced and/or removed.

Before commencing any change of use or construction work, It is advisable to check with our planning office to see if permission is needed, by using our pre-application planning advice service.

When are permitted development rights reduced/removed?

Permitted development rights only relate to planning permission. They do not relate to listed building consent and advertisement consent.

They are reduced and/or removed:

where the building has been altered or extended since July 1948
where an access is proposed on to a classified road
where the proposed works are to a Listed Building (and/or within its grounds at time of listing)
within a ‘designated area’
where these rights have been removed by an Article 4 Direction
where rights for physical alterations have been removed by a condition on the original planning permission for the property or a subsequent consent for alterations or additions
where rights for a change of use have been removed by a condition on the current planning permission for the building and/or land.

and/or:

houses created through permitted development rights to change use from shops, financial and professional services premises or agricultural buildings cannot use householder permitted development rights to improve, alter or extend homes.

Permitted development rights are defined within National Legislation, primarily within the Town and Country Planning General Permitted Development Order 2015 (England) (As Amended).

How to check if a property been extended previously

You maybe able to tell by the external character and form of the building. For example, does it have a projecting section with a different roof height or different external materials? Is it within a row of similar buildings but differs in shape?

You may also be able to tell if there have been additions by looking at the width of the internal walls. Generally, external walls are thicker than those between rooms. Therefore, if you have a thicker wall between two rooms this can suggest the building has been previously extended.

If a previous alteration or addition required planning permission, there will also be a record in the planning history for the property.

Please note that even if the planning history does not show a record of a previous addition, the property may still have been extended using ‘Permitted Development Rights’, and therefore you may still require planning permission for future additions or alterations.

If the property has been extended previously, and your proposed extension or alteration would be attached to the previous addition, the combined depth, width and height will need to comply with the requirements of the permitted development rights. If the combined dimensions (or those of the proposal on their own) exceed the dimensions permitted in the order, planning permission will be required.

If you are seeking to alter a previous extension that was granted planning permission, you may require planning permission for the proposed works, even if these would not increase its dimensions (e.g. cladding, inserting windows etc).

If you remain unsure as to whether your property benefits from permitted development rights, and/or if those rights enable you to undertake the proposed works, it is advisable to check with our planning office to see if permission is needed, by using our pre-application planning advice service.

How to check if a road is classified

If you are proposing a new access on to a ‘Classified Road’, planning permission is likely to be required for the works. Suffolk County Council maintain a list of classified roads.

Please note, even if your road is not classified, planning permission may still be required for the proposed works, including the laying of any hardstanding.

Before commencing works, It is advisable to check with our planning office to see if permission is needed, by using our pre-application planning advice service.

How to check if a property is a listed building

You can search the National Heritage List to find out if your property is listed. You can also view the location of listed buildings in East Suffolk by using our online geographical information system (GIS).

In addition to planning permission, the works may also require listed building consent.

Before commencing any change of use or construction work, It is advisable to check with our planning office to see if listed building consent and/or planning permission is needed, by using our pre-application planning advice service.

Further advice on listed buildings

How to check if a property is within a Designated Area

In terms of permitted development rights within the East Suffolk District, the term ‘Designated Area’ relates to:

a Conservation Area
the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
and the Suffolk and Norfolk Broads

A summary of some works that do and do not require consent in a Conservation Area - Please note that this list is general and therefore does not detail specific permitted development rights for proposals on all and every type of building.

How to check if a property is within an area covered by an Article 4 Direction

Local Planning Authorities are able to increase controls within Conservation Areas through the application of Article 4(1) Directions (formerly known as Article 4(2) Directions).

Some Conservation Areas within the former Waveney Area have Article 4(1) Directions.

There are also some instances where Article 4 Directions have been placed on specific buildings outside Conservation Areas. Therefore, it is advisable to check with the Local Planning Authority prior to proceeding with any works.

How to check if permitted development rights for physical works have been removed by condition

When planning permission is granted, it will contain a number of conditions relating to a variety of aspects of the building and/or land. These conditions can remove permitted development rights, resulting in the need for the submission of an application for planning permission before alterations or extensions are made to the building, outbuildings, structures, fences, walls and gates etc within its garden.

In order to check if permitted development rights have been removed, the original planning permission for the property, and any planning permissions for subsequent works will need to be checked to see if they removed permitted development rights.

Such conditions can be written in a variety of ways, but often start with the wording similar to:

“Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 [or any Order revoking or re-enacting the said Order]…..”

Planning permission decision notices can be obtained via the Public Access system.

How to check if a change of use is restricted by condition

The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended) put uses of land and buildings into various categories. These are known as the ‘Use Classes’.

A list of these Use Classes can be viewed on the Planning Portal.

In many circumstances planning permission will be required to change the use of the land or building, but there are exceptions. These exceptions are permitted under Part 3 of the Town and Country Planning General Permitted Development Order 2015 (England) (As Amended).

In some circumstances a full planning application may not be required, but a Prior Notification Application to the Local Planning Authority will be required instead (prior to the use and/or associated physical works commencing).

In many circumstances when planning permission is granted for a building and/or the use of land, a condition will be included on the consent, which restricts the way in which it can be used. Such a condition removes the ability to use the above ‘Change of Use’ rights.

You can view the planning history for a property via the Public Access system, and download a copy of the relevant consent (if there is one), to check whether it includes such a condition.

Such conditions can be written in a variety of ways, but often start with the wording:

“The premises herein referred to, shall be used for ******* and for no other purpose (including any other purpose in Class [ ] of the Schedule to the Town and Country Planning [Use Classes] Order 1987) (or any Order revoking or re-enacting the said Order)…..”

Please note, the lack of such a condition, does not mean that the change of use you are proposing would comply with the above regulations. Planning Permission may still be required for the change of use and/or any physical alterations proposed.

If you remain unsure as to whether your property benefits from Permitted Development Rights, and/or if those rights enable you to undertake the proposed works, it is advisable to check with our planning office to see if permission is needed, by using our pre-application planning advice service.

How to check if the home was created through permitted development rights

Homes created through permitted development rights to such as those that allow for change use from shops, financial and professional services premises or agricultural buildings cannot use householder permitted development rights to improve, alter or extend homes.

Such homes which have been created through permitted development rights would have been granted via a ‘Prior Notification’ Process, which will be shown as part of the planning history.

You can view the planning history for a property via Public Access and download a copy of the relevant consent (if there is one), to check whether it was granted ‘Prior Notification’ approval or planning permission.

In this section