When Should You Ask For Garden Planning Permission?
Posted By on December 17, 2009
Any time you want to avoid problems with your plans in the garden, you should assume you need to ask for garden planning permission. Most building codes allow for certain activities, but if you are not sure it is better to ask now than to suffer the consequences later. If adding a permanent structure, a permit may be needed.
While you might think to ask about permits if building a garden shed or summer house, you might not realize that you also could be limited in the amount of paving of driveways or building of garden walls. Because of these limitations you need to take the time to check with the local officials when paving a driveway or building a garden wall.
Many communities are starting to limit the amount of surface that can be covered in hard surface without making provision for runoff water. This is due to flash flooding that is sometimes occurring in communities where a majority of the area is covered in buildings and paving. As a result of covering areas that were formerly able to soak in the rain, water is forced to run off into ditches, streams and rivers and leads to flooding.
With garden walls, there are often height restrictions. These restrictions help to protect your neighbor’s view. No one wants to be able to look out a window only to see the neighbor’s brick garden wall. Local codes are designed to protect everyone.
Of course if planning a garden shed, you should check with the building officials. There may be different rules if the shed is larger than normal or contains electrical or plumbing elements. Simple small sheds may need no special permission, while larger ones with mechanical elements will have to have the special permission.
If you choose to move forward with plans and not check local codes, you could receive a notice in a few months or even in a few years that requires that you remove the offending structure or face fines for each day that it remains in your garden.
Need to know if you need garden planning permission? Or if you can do without it? At the Clearance Paving website, you can learn more about garden planning permission