Can You Add A Porch Without Planning Permission?

We cannot stress enough how important it is that the outside of your home has that WOW factor, particularly if you are thinking about putting your property on the market in the near future. 

Go and stand outside your home and be honest with yourself – does it excite you and blow you away?

If not, it’s time to smarten up your entrance, which the integration of a UPVC or brick porch will help you accomplish. The extra space that a porch adds will also be great for storing shoes, coats etc. freeing up plenty of wardrobe space in your bedroom and giving you easy access to these items of clothing when exiting your home. 

For the stylishness and security they add, UPVC and brick porches are incredible value for money. Either form of porch will massively enhance aesthetics and make you feel so much safer. 

But a word of warning before you plough ahead with getting one installed – sometimes, you need planning permission to fit a porch

You associate planning permission with conservatory and orangery installations, but there are instances when UPVC and brick porches can be subject to planning laws too. 

If your home falls under Permitted Development Rights, you will not need planning permission and can automatically proceed with the installation. To have Permitted Development Rights, the following guidelines must be met:

1. the ground floor area (measured externally) would not exceed three square metres.
2. no part would be more than three metres above ground level (height needs to be measured in the same way as for a house extension).
3. no part of the porch would be within two metres of any boundary of the dwellinghouse and the highway.

Under no circumstances be tempted to install a porch without checking to see if it complies with the rules first. If your local authority discovers that it doesn’t satisfy the guidelines, they can force you to make a retrospective planning application, and it’s not a given that the application will be accepted. When turned down, you will have no option but to remove the porch and have your entrance returned back to what it used to look like. 

Give responsibility to 5 Star for your new porch to avoid any potential headaches. We’ll do all the necessary checks for you. Click here to view our full porch range.