Conveyancing Solicitors in Stoke-on-Trent investigate building extensions

One of the issues that Conveyancing Solicitors in Stoke-on-Trent routinely check is that all alterations made to a property comply with local planning regulations.

When Fridaysmove’s approved solicitor Jaaine Intharajah advised clients on the sale of a freehold property located in Garston, Whiston, Stoke-on-Trent, ST10, she discovered that there had been several changes made to the property.

Most building work on the interior of a house can be undertaken without planning permission, but significant exterior alterations usually require consent from the local council. The procedure is laid down in the Town and Country Planning Orders and Regulations of 1995 and 2008. Since 2004, local authorities can make their own rules to some extent, in the form of local development orders.

The house, valued at £285k, falls within the authority of Staffordshire Moorlands Council, which lays out its policies regarding planning permission on its website.

Planning permission rules explained by Conveyancing Solicitors in Stoke-on-Trent

The first of the changes found by Conveyancing Solicitors in Stoke-on-Trent, Jaaine, related to the erection of a third bedroom over the existing kitchen and ground floor conservatory. This was registered in 1989.

The 2008 Act specifies that planning permission is not needed if side extensions do not exceed a single storey, with a maximum height of four metres and the width no more than half that of the original house. The extension must also not be higher than the highest part of the existing house’s roof, and that materials similar to those used to build the existing house need to be used. It is important that Conveyancing Solicitors in Stoke-on-Trent inform clients of this.

The Staffordshire Moorlands Council website allows residents to comment on and object to planning applications. This is especially relevant for major commercial projects, but neighbours may also be concerned if a private householder plans changes that in some way affect their property.

For example, the loss of amenity or privacy to an adjacent home is cited as one of the important matters in deciding whether to grant planning permission by the Council. However, effects on private rights and covenants, devaluation of the property, or retention and protection of a view are not relevant factors.

Another alteration revealed by Fridaysmove’s Conveyancing Solicitor in Stoke-on-Trent was a bedroom extension declared in 2002. This development would have needed planning permission if more than half the area around the original house would be covered and extended beyond the rear wall by more than three metres.

Conveyancing Solicitors in Stoke-on-Trent may recommend that clients always check planned extensions with the Council to have peace of mind. Householders can seek pre-application advice - however this carries a fee of £53.11 for properties under the authority of Staffordshire Moorlands Council.

It is crucial for Conveyancing Solicitors in Stoke-on-Trent to check that all developments comply with the legislation or have been given planning permission. If they fail to do so, buyers may be subjected to an enforcement order, obliging them to undo previous alterations to the property in the worst case scenario.