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General considerations for domestic extensions
A badly designed proposal can have a profound
impact not only upon the occupiers of nearby properties but also upon the character
of your house and the area as a whole. It can also have the effect of detracting
from the value of your house as appearances can matter when people decide whether
or not to purchase a property. House extensions should therefore be designed to
respect the style of the main house and to preserve the privacy and amenities
of adjacent premises. The scale, siting and materials of any proposal are therefore
key considerations and the following guidelines are offered in respect of the
most commonest forms of extension.
Rear Extensions
The impact of a rear extension is best assessed against its effect upon available
light (sunlight and natural light) to neighbouring properties and in particular,
to the nearest window to any habitable room. Apart from the importance of needing
to design for best effect, the Local Authority will consider this in some detail
when examining the proposal. In such an assessment the orientation of the proposed
extension to the neighbouring property will form an important consideration, as
for example, extensions due-south of a neighbours house will have a greater effect
on available seen light than those to the north.
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Rear extension
in matching bricks and tiles - Roffey, West Sussex
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The maximum limit to which rear extensions will be favourably considered is generally
determined by a 60° angle (for single-storey extensions) or 45° angle
(for first floor or two-storey extensions). The Planning Authority will need to
be satisfied that the design and materials are appropriate to the main building
and others in the vicinity, that sufficient private amenity space is retained
for the property, (usually 50% of the rear garden/yard area) and that privacy
is retained to neighbouring properties on each side and also to the rear. A distance
of 21 metres minimum is normally required between the first floor habitable rooms
of houses in a back to back situation or 12 metres for rear to side elevations.
Side Extensions
In most urban, suburban and village situations two-storey and first floor side
extensions are normally required to be set in a minimum of one metre from a communal
boundary to ensure visual separation from adjacent dwellings and to prevent the
creation of a 'terracing effect'. Side extensions should not normally follow the
front line of the existing house; rather they should be set back slightly to create
a 'visual break' between old and new, and thereby retain the form and dominance
of the main house.
Front Extensions
Virtually all forms of front extensions require planning permission. Their prominent
position means that such proposals must be assessed critically in relation to
their impact upon the character of the locality as well as your own property and
neighbouring buildings. The guideline for the effect upon available light will
continue to apply as well as scale, design and materials.
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