When considering adding a wooden garage to your home, one of the first questions you’ll think about is: “Do wooden garages need planning permission?”
You might assume that because a garage is a large structure, planning permission is a given, but that’s not always the case.
At G&M, we’ve been designing and assembling timber Garages for over 30 years. Boss Grant has become a bit of an expert when it comes to planning permission for wooden buildings. So, we’re here to talk you through different circumstances when a wooden Garage needs planning permission and when it doesn’t.
By the end of this blog, you’ll have a clear idea of whether or not you’ll need planning permission for your dream garage and what to do next if you do.
What is permitted development?
Permitted development is a set of rules that allow you to add certain structures to your property without needing planning permission. It basically exists so that everyone who wants to put a wee shed in their garden doesn’t need to go through the planning application process.
If your proposed building meets the criteria of permitted development, then you don’t need to worry about getting planning permission. But how do you know if your wooden Garage qualifies? That’s where the G&M Scottish Planning Permission Checklist can come in handy.
How do you use the G&M Planning Permission Checklist?
We created this checklist to help our customers figure out whether their timber building project will need planning permission. If you answer no to all the questions on the checklist, you likely don’t need planning permission, whereas if you answer yes to one or more, you probably do need to get planning permission.
Of course, the list is just a guide, and it’s always best to double-check with your wooden garage supplier or your local planning authority. If you buy a G&M timber Garage, our sales team will advise you on this during your Consultation.
Is your building going to be used for business?
If you intend to use your wooden garage for business premises, it doesn’t fall under permitted development, and you’ll likely need planning permission.
If people are visiting your garage often, parking in the street or adding to the noise in the street, these are all things that could impact your neighbours and cause you to need planning permission.
But if your wooden Garage is only occasionally used for business, or you’re just working from home and it’s not the registered business address, then you don’t necessarily need planning permission.
The rules for putting up a building specifically for business use make things pretty complicated, so it’s always best to consult your local planning authority in this case.
Do you live in a tenement block?
When you live in a tenement block, you tend to share a garden with the rest of the neighbours in your block. The garden being a shared space means that if you add a building, then it’s going to impact your neighbours.
Building a wooden garage in your shared garden will not be within permitted development, and you’ll likely need planning permission.
Do you have upstairs or downstairs neighbours?
Similarly to the last question, if you live in a home with upstairs or downstairs neighbours, you might have a shared garden and will need planning permission.
Even if you have a private garden, you may still need planning permission, because sometimes the property is considered part of a shared building. Adding a wooden garage to your garden in this case might affect your neighbour, so planning permission is needed.
Again, individual cases may vary, so it’s best to check with your local planning authority.
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Is your building outside your garden?
This may seem like an obvious one, but it’s not always immediately clear what land belongs to your property, and what is your neighbour’s or public space.
Paths, shared driveways and gardens without a fence or wall separating them can make things a little confusing. If you’re unsure whether the plot of land you intend to build your wooden garage on belongs to you, it’s best to check your property deeds.
You can’t put your wooden garage on land that’s not yours, regardless of planning permission, so you’ll have to find a new spot for the building.
Is your building at the front of your home?
This one is a little bit complicated because of the language they use in the planning rules. If your principal elevation (front of your house) or side elevation faces a road, then any Garage built forward of these faces tends to need planning permission. This is because planning permission is particularly concerned with how a building looks from the road.
If the side elevation of your property does not face a road, then it is possible to add a timber garage here without planning permission, but it can’t go beyond the front elevation.
The easiest case is if your garage is going in your back garden, as this will likely be permitted development, and you won’t need planning permission.
Is your building within 1m of a boundary?
As long as your wooden Garage stays under 2.5 metres in height at every point within the 1 metre zone, you can place it up against the boundary and still comply with permitted development.
If your building is taller than 2.5 metres, where you plan to place it against the boundary, you need to set it at least 1 metre away; otherwise, you’ll need planning permission.
For example:
To meet permitted development rules, we place our timber Garages around 1 metre away from the boundary. This is because our Garages are close to 2.5 metres tall at the eaves (where the walls meet the roof).
Is your building more than 4m high?
If the overall height of your wooden Garage is above 4 metres, the building isn’t within permitted development and you’ll need planning permission. This rule is unlikely to apply because even though a Garage is a big building, over 4 metres tall is still incredibly tall for a single-storey building.
Does your building have walls more than 3m high?
If the eaves height (where the walls meet the roof) of your timber garage is over 3m, then you’ll need planning permission. The gable of the Garage can still be over 3 metres – as long as the eaves height is under 3 metres, you’re within permitted development.
Do you live in a listed building or conservation area?
If you live in a listed building or conservation area, permitted development rules don’t apply, and in most cases, you’ll need planning permission to build a timber garage.
In a conservation area, you can add a building under 8m² without planning permission; however, this is quite a small size for a Garage. For example, our smallest standard garage is around 16m².
In a listed building, the largest building you can have without planning permission is 4m², which is the size of a wee shed. So, if you live in a listed building and want to add a wooden Garage, you’ll need planning permission.
Is the building more than 50% of your back garden?
Planning permission rules state that you must leave at least half of the front or rear curtilage undeveloped. The curtilage is all the garden that belongs to your house.
This means the size of your wooden garage plus any other buildings in the garden, such as a greenhouse or shed, can’t take up more than 50% of the rear curtilage.
Taking up more than 50% of your back garden with developments means that your timber garage will need planning permission.
What’s the biggest my wooden Garage can be without planning permission?
At Gillies and Mackay, we build wooden Garages up to 30m². Technically, if your wooden Garage plans didn’t trigger any of the planning permission checklist criteria, even a Garage over 30m² might not need planning permission.
We don’t build Garages over this size because once you go over 30m², Building Control applies and you’ll need a warrant for the building. Getting a building control warrant is a costly and time-consuming task, and usually pushes a timber Garage project out of scope.
If you want to avoid needing a Building Control warrant, but still need plenty of space, we suggest splitting the area into two or even three separate buildings.
For example:
We recently completed a project for a customer who needed space for their motorbikes, cars and a ride-on mower. Instead of one massive wooden Garage, we built three Garages and a carport. This way, the project didn’t need planning permission or Building Control.
What if I do need planning permission for my wooden Garage?
Don’t panic if you do need planning permission, it’s not as tiresome as it seems.
It does mean that your project is likely going to take a little longer, and cost a bit more too, but it’s nothing to lose hope over – you can still have the wooden garage of your dreams.
You can submit the planning application for your wooden Garage yourself if you fancy. You’ll need all the required documents and the relevant fee, which you submit to the online portal..
Otherwise, your Garage company might offer a service to take care of the planning application for you.
At G&M, we offer a planning permission service for a fee of £696.00. In this case, Grant will get all the documents ready for your application and submit it for you – we’ve got a 98% success rate with planning approval, so you’re in good hands.
Once your planning application is in the hands of the council, it can be a bit of a waiting game. They tend to get back within 6-8 weeks, but it varies depending on the council and how busy they are.
Do all wooden Garages need planning permission?
Even though wooden Garages tend to be large buildings, depending on your site, location, height and use of your building, you don’t always need planning permission.
At G&M, we can always take care of the planning permission application for you so you can focus on planning what you’re going to do with your new space.
If you’re still unsure whether your wooden Garage plans require planning permission, book a Consultation with our team. They’ll discuss your Garage requirements with you and advise on whether you’ll need planning permission.
