Require Planning Permission or Not

MFlack2012

We are in the early stages of undertaking a conversion on an already built annex and a Kitchen extension. I have asked SDCC if we require planning permission but they just sent me a link to which I cannot understand.

The Annex is currently in use as a shed/home gym/art studio. We want to turn it into an 'apartment' with bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. The roof needs to be reinforced and internal walls moved into correct position with all works completed after that- e.g bathroom installed,kitchen installed etc. Also requires heating, electrics and plumbing from the main house. This does not have planning permission as we were told it didn't require it by the builder that built it. It is closing in on 30Sq/m.

The Kitchen Extension is yet to be built. We do have a conservatory in place, connected to main house. It is approximately 1/3 of the width of house (Probably around 10-15 sq/m (Unsure) We will be knocking this down and extending the floor to the length of the house, but not extending the width.

No other planning permission have been sought on the home. We see on SDCC that planning permission is not required up to 40sq/m. We don't know if this covers the annex as it's standalone.

Do we require permission for:
Annex change of use.
Kitchen Extension
Both
Neither

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

sydthebeat

if its to be an independently occupied apartment, then yes it absolutely needs planning permission.

MFlack2012

sydthebeat wrote: »

if its to be an independently occupied apartment, then yes it absolutely needs planning permission.

Thank you, I was assuming the same, regardless of the 40sq/m 'rule'. I would assume with it changing use also it would require it. Was holding out hope, I was wrong and we wouldn't require notice for all the nosey neighbours on this one

Would you know if the Kitchen extension would require same also?

sydthebeat

your case is very site specific, and you should get advice from someone who visits teh site... but what id say is as follows:

the total floor area of extension should not exceed 40 sq m.
so if you currently have an "annex" (which i assume is connected directly to the dwelling) and this annex includes a gym / art studio, then personally i would include these areas in the 40 sq m calculation.

so if you do no work to the annex, then you can extend the kitchen by an area left by the balance of the 40 sq m minus the gym / studio area.

if you get permission to change the annex into a stand alone apartment, then its arguable that you can then extend the kitchen by a full 40 sq m without permission

MFlack2012

sydthebeat wrote: »

your case is very site specific, and you should get advice from someone who visits teh site... but what id say is as follows:

the total floor area of extension should not exceed 40 sq m.
so if you currently have an "annex" (which i assume is connected directly to the dwelling) and this annex includes a gym / art studio, then personally i would include these areas in the 40 sq m calculation.

so if you do no work to the annex, then you can extend the kitchen by an area left by the balance of the 40 sq m minus the gym / studio area.

if you get permission to change the annex into a stand alone apartment, then its arguable that you can then extend the kitchen by a full 40 sq m without permission

The annex is already built and is standalone, at the back of the garden. It is currently in use, but will definitely be changed into an apartment for myself. So I would assume we couldn't include this in the 40sq/m. I would assume this is where the builder went wrong (if he did) in the beginning, when built. I have seen an article online, that there are standalone home pods that are 22sq/m that are available for purchase and the manufacturers suggest that planning permission is not required as they fall within the 22sq/m rule. So I guess this is a completely different rule than the 40sq/m.

Yes, I would say so?

Was hoping the other way around, don't mind the neighbours knowing about the kitchen extension

Homer

If it is to be habitable then as far as I understand it has to be physically connected to the main house. It cannot be a standalone annex with someone living in it.

MFlack2012

Homer wrote: »

If it is to be habitable then as far as I understand it has to be physically connected to the main house. It cannot be a standalone annex with someone living in it.

Not sure about this, as my cousin has had permission to do the same. Hers is not built yet but it is definitely standalone.

sydthebeat

MFlack2012 wrote: »

The annex is already built and is standalone, at the back of the garden. It is currently in use, but will definitely be changed into an apartment for myself. So I would assume we couldn't include this in the 40sq/m. I would assume this is where the builder went wrong (if he did) in the beginning, when built. I have seen an article online, that there are standalone home pods that are 22sq/m that are available for purchase and the manufacturers suggest that planning permission is not required as they fall within the 22sq/m rule. So I guess this is a completely different rule than the 40sq/m.

Yes, I would say so?

Was hoping the other way around, don't mind the neighbours knowing about the kitchen extension

The 40 sq m only deals with EXTENSIONS and an extension has to be attached to the original dwelling.... so if the shed is detached away then forget about the 40 sq m area.

If the shed is going to be converted to something for use only be the inhabitants of the original dwelling, then it can be consider exempt if under 25 sq m.
see an bord pleanala order here

those pods are the same in that they can only be considered exempt if:

the use of the structure is for a purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse

and under 25 sq m.

sydthebeat

Homer wrote: »

If it is to be habitable then as far as I understand it has to be physically connected to the main house. It cannot be a standalone annex with someone living in it.

yeah the terminology is wrong, an "annex" describes something attached.

MFlack2012

sydthebeat wrote: »

yeah the terminology is wrong, an "annex" describes something attached.

Completely, I've just described it as an annex (Maybe granny-flat would be better) as we always just called it the shed, but I was getting some pretty fun comments regarding living in a shed!

MFlack2012

sydthebeat wrote: »

The 40 sq m only deals with EXTENSIONS and an extension has to be attached to the original dwelling.... so if the shed is detached away then forget about the 40 sq m area.

If the shed is going to be converted to something for use only be the inhabitants of the original dwelling, then it can be consider exempt if under 25 sq m.
see an bord pleanala order here

those pods are the same in that they can only be considered exempt if:
and under 25 sq m.

It is definitely over the 25sq/m threshold. It is 29.5sq/m or thereabouts. I'll have a look at the link, but don't think it will be exempt.

Any ideas on what type of planning permission we go seeking? Or what we need for same? Hoping to get into the SDCC on Friday.