Conservatories and porches

Do you need approval to construct a conservatory or porch?

Conservatories and porches that meet certain conditions do not require Building Regulation consent.

Conditions for conservatories

Although your conservatory may not require Building Regulation consent, permission will be required if you are forming or widening an existing opening to install doors to enter your conservatory.

For a conservatory to be exempt from Building Regulation approval, the following conditions must be met:

  1. Internal floor area must be 3 m2 or less.
  2. The roof and walls of a conservatory must be substantially glazed with a transparent material.
  3. The conservatory must be separated from the remainder of the dwelling by closing doors.
  4. Safety glazing must be used in doors, windows adjacent to doors and all windows within 800mm of floor level.
  5. The main house heating system must not be extended into the conservatory.

If any of these conditions are not met a Building Regulation application will be required.

Conditions for porches

For a porch to be exempt from Building Regulation approval, the following conditions must be met:

  1. The internal floor area must be 30m2 or less.
  2. There must be no utilities installed within the porch, e.g. toilet, washing machine etc. (i.e. the porch must be used only as an entrance area)
  3. The porch must be separated from the remainder of the dwelling by a standard entrance door.
  4. The glazing must meet the requirements for safety glazing.

If any of these conditions are not met a Building Regulation application will be required.

What is safety glazing?

Safety glazing is usually toughened or laminated glass (shielding must protect both the inside and outside of the glass).

Safety glazing will:

  1. Break in a way unlikely to cause injury
  2. Resist impact without breaking
  3. Be shielded or protected from impact

Apply

Please contact the Building Control team for a copy of the application form you require via email or by phone:

Fees

For some Full Plans applications, part of the fee is payable upon submission of the application and the other part is invoiced for, after the first inspection by Building Control officers. This is dependent on the work category and is shown within the charges information.

For a Building Notice application, fee is payable upon submission of the application.

Domestic premises and Non-domestic premises

Please contact Building Control regarding fees:

Please contact the Building Control Helpline and the Team will be able to provide you with a fee quote