Conservatories are popular additions to UK homes with good reason. They provide additional floor and living space in your property and they can let more natural light into your home. 

Modern conservatories in particular are much more energy efficient than their older counterparts, which means they retain heat better during the winter and prevent excessive heat gain in the summer. 

Whether you are planning to add a conservatory to your home, or are considering replacing or repairing an older conservatory to make it more fit for purpose, one question often arises: do you need planning permission for a conservatory?

The short answer is “no”, because in most cases a conservatory falls under what are known as permitted development rights. However, there are some exceptions, such as if your property is a listed building, if it is located in a Site of Special Scientific Interest or if the conservatory in question exceeds a certain size. 

You may also need planning permission if you want to put the conservatory at the front of your home, rather than at the rear or on the side. 

How large can a conservatory be without needing planning permission?

In England, conservatories are generally subject to the same rules as extensions. So, a rear single-storey extension cannot extend further than four metres from the outer wall of the property if it’s detached, or three metres if it is any other kind of house (like a semi-detached or terraced house). 

This is important to be aware of if you are planning to have parts of your conservatory replaced while carrying out repair work. It might be tempting to think about increasing the floor space you have available, but make sure that you still fall within permitted development rights if you do so.

But it isn’t only important to think about how far back your conservatory extends. It is also important to consider how high it will be. A single-storey extension in England cannot exceed four metres in height without requiring planning permission, for instance. 

Therefore, if you are considering repairing an old conservatory roof by installing a new set of panels, you need to ensure that you don’t increase the pitch of the roof in the process and inadvertently make it taller than the previous structure. 

Conservatories located on the side of your home can be no wider than half the width of your original house and they cannot be more than a single storey in height. 

All of this means that you need to know the size of your original property to ensure you can calculate the allowable size of your conservatory correctly. 

Do you need planning permission if you’re making changes or having repairs done for a conservatory?

No, you shouldn’t need planning permission for conservatory repairs. However, as we’ve highlighted, it’s important to ensure that you don’t make changes to the size of your conservatory in the process of upgrading it without carefully checking that they still fall within permitted development rights. 

Do you need building regs for a conservatory?

This is always an interesting question. There are several criteria a conservatory has to meet in order to be exempt from building regulations in England. A conservatory needs to:

  • Be less than 30 square metres in size (which the vast majority are).
  • Be separated from the main house by external-quality walls, doors or glazing. 
  • Have its own independent heating system.
  • Be only a single storey in height.

In addition, it’s essential that you ensure your doors, windows and any electrics comply with the relevant building regulations. This is one of the reasons why it’s so important to ensure you always use conservatory repair specialists if you need to fix any part of your conservatory. 

A conservatory repair specialist will ensure they replace any damaged or old glazing with new windows that are fully compliant with building regulations. 

If you need to create a new “structural opening” between the rest of your home and your conservatory, this element will need to be compliant with building regulations, even if the conservatory itself is exempt under the criteria we’ve just shared. 

Even though it can feel like a hassle to have to comply with the likes of building regs, it’s important to remember that these rules are in place to keep you and your family safe. Therefore it’s best to always work with specialist firms, whether you are having a conservatory added to your home, or you are having any parts of it repaired. 

There are many nuances to the building regulations approval process, so it is always best to seek professional advice if you are unsure whether your conservatory repairs or renovation might require you to seek additional approvals.