The rules allow a range of works within certain constraints – including extensions, access ramps, sheds, garages and decking – to be built without applying for planning permission. Certain restrictions will still apply for conservation areas and listed buildings.
The regulations were laid in Parliament last October following a consultation, and will affect projects which go on site from today.
Until now, householders paid £160 in planning fees for developments. Just over 40 per cent of all applications are for planning permission on existing homes and these changes aim to remove up to a fifth of those, around 4,000 a year, from the planning system.
The legislation can be downloaded here
