Garden Room Permitted Development in Wales

Many garden room company websites base their Permitted Development guides based on the rules laid out on England's Planning Portal. Wales has slightly different rules than England when it comes to building a garden room under the Permitted Development rules.

This guide highlights the Permitted Development rules in Wales for outbuildings. As laid out on the Welsh Government website.

The Welsh Government clearly lays out the Permitted Development rules for outbuildings - this is how garden rooms are described. We think they present the rules in a much clearer way than the other UK countries!

As with other parts of the UK, Permitted Development in Wales does not cover flats or maisonettes, so if you live in one and are planning a garden room, you will need to apply for planning permission.

As the property owner, you are responsible for adhering to applicable planning requirements when building a garden room. Failing to comply with planning regulations could mean you are required to remove all or part of the work if you don't follow the law. Therefore, you'll want to ensure you are familiar with the rules and that you work with a garden room designer that understands them.

Wales's Permitted Development Rules for Garden Rooms

Making the rules easier to understand, the Welsh Government divide the rules into two sections: Siting and Height. This makes them easy to understand.

Siting

  • the total area of ground covered by outbuildings cannot exceed 50% of the total area of the curtilage
  • outbuildings cannot be located in front of the building line of the principal elevation
  • outbuildings cannot extend beyond the side elevation of the house when the development would be any closer to a highway than the existing house, or at least 5 metres from the highway – whichever is nearest
  • any part of the development within 2 metres of a boundary of the house cannot exceed a height of 2.5 metres
  • any part of the development within 2 metres of the house cannot exceed a height of 1.5 metres.

Source: gov.wales

Height

  • outbuildings cannot exceed more than one storey
  • the height of an outbuilding cannot exceed 4 metres when the building has more than one pitch (eg dual pitch and hipped roofs)
  • the height cannot exceed 3 metres when the building has a single pitch or other roof form
  • flat roof buildings cannot exceed 2.5 metres in height
  • eaves height of the building cannot exceed 2.5m.

If your property is situated within a National Park, an area of outstanding natural beauty or a conservation area, the following restrictions also apply:

  • the total area of ground covered by outbuildings situated more than 20 metres from any wall of your dwelling cannot exceed 10 square metres
  • no development can take place on land between the side elevation of the existing dwelling and the side boundary of your property.

Source: gov.wales

Listed buildings

You will need to apply for planning permission for construction of, or amendments to, any outbuildings within the curtilage of a listed building.

Source: gov.wales

If you are planning a deck or veranda, there are rules

It is popular to extend a garden room with a deck or veranda. The Welsh Government's Permitted Development guide also has rules for decks and verandas:

  • Verandas, balconies and raised platforms are not permitted where any part of the development would project more than 300mm above the surface of the ground below.

Source: gov.wales

If in doubt, take advice

If in doubt about whether you can build your garden room under the Permitted Development rules, take professional advice.

Local Authority Planning Offices offer pre-planning advice; there is usually a small charge for this. Experienced garden room companies often have planning consultants on retainer who can advise you on your situation. You can also engage a planning consultant independently.

We have a list of planning consultants who specialise in garden rooms.

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