Everything you need to know about Planning Permission and Building Regulations for your bespoke orangery project.

For many, when planning your modern bespoke orangery, Planning Permission and Building Regulations can be an unwanted concern. By choosing Conservatory Outlet this is taken out of your hands so you are free to enjoy the exciting parts of choosing your dream orangery or contemporary conservatory – such as what style will you have, will the roof be glass or polycarbonate and how will you use your new orangery or sunroom?

What is the difference between Planning Permission and Building Regulations?

Planning Permission and Building Regulations are often confused. Both are the responsibility of the Local Authority and basically, Planning Permission takes into consideration the aesthetic effect of a new building/orangery on the surrounding homes and neighbourhood, whilst Building Regulations define how the structure must be constructed in terms of thermal efficiency etc.

Do I need Planning Permission?

Conservatory Outlet will take care of this for you, but for your information, here is a summary of the basic facts. In most cases you will not require planning permission for your orangery in the same way as a conservatory under the present legislation, unless you are adding an orangery to a house that has already been extended. You may also need to check if your house is a ‘new build’ as developers sometimes place restrictions on them.

You may now be able to build quite a number of orangeries or conservatories without planning permission that previously would have needed it. The following rules must be followed to remain exempt from them.

• They are built at ground level and are less than 30 square metres in floor area

• At least half of the new wall and three quarters of the roof is either glazed or translucent material.

• The orangery/conservatory is separated from the house by external quality door(s).

• Glazing and any fixed electrical installations comply with the applicable building regulations requirements.

From 1st October 2008 new rules for conservatories, orangeries and glass extensions took affect which replaced the old rules and affect planning rules as follows:

1. No extension forward of the principal elevation or side elevation fronting a highway. This means that any orangery on the front or side of a house that will be closer to a public highway than the original house will need planning permission. A highway is any public right of way including footpaths.

2. Maximum depth of a single-storey rear extension of three metres for an attached house and four metres for a detached house. The width of an orangery running along the back length of a house is not constrained at all unless it projects beyond the house which is constrained by rule 3. A house is only detached if there is no solid structure connecting it to a neighbour. A “link” house is therefore not detached nor would be two houses with a common garage. The rules on what counts as being detached have not changed from the previous ones.

3. Side extensions to be single storey with maximum height of four metres and width no more than half that of the original house.

4. Maximum eaves height of an extension within two metres of the boundary of three metres from the lowest point on the ground.

5. No verandas, balconies or raised platforms.

6. On designated land no permitted development for rear extensions of more than one storey; no cladding of the exterior; no side extensions.

7. No more than half the area of land around the “original house” would be covered by additions or other buildings.

8. Maximum height of a single-storey rear extension of four metres.

While permitted development rights now allow for the construction of many orangeries and conservatories without planning permission items 1 and 2 above may still limit their size and material construction if you want to avoid building regulations. If a conservatory you are building does not meet any of the above four rules then it will have to adhere to building regulations in full.

Will my orangery need to satisfy Building Regulations?

In general, a domestic orangery or conservatory will be exempt under UK building regulations, again, ask Conservatory Outlet to check this out for you, they will take care of the process.

If you would like to receive a quotation for an orangery or modern conservatory then please fill in one of our free quotation request forms, and our sales advisor can also discuss whether your project will need planning permission or building regulations.

Conservatory polycarbonate video

The conservatory market seems to be heading towards more and more glass roofs being installed in the UK every year. This is because there are a number of advantages of using glass, such as less rain noise, and the ability to see the sky through your conservatory roof.

However, there is still a considerable demand for polycarbonate, especially with the option of using solar inserts on the polycarbonate to reduce heat build in upvc conservatories.

We standardise our polycarbonate roofs with the thickest option - 35mm polycarbonate as standard. This creates a far stronger roof, with a much lower U-Value and less noise from the rain. The following Synseal video shows the main advantages of using 35mm polycarbonate:

For more information about the different conservatory roof glazing options please visit our conservatory specification page

Conservatory Outlet has launched a new high performance Solaris Polycarbonate range to go alongside their existing and proven Solaris Glass. So if it’s a high performance conservatory roof you want then the company can offer you a complete range of glazing solutions.

This specialist polycarbonate division of Conservatory Outlet has launched this new polycarbonate in response to demand from both homeowner and trade customer and is available in two options, Original and Optimum. The Original option with silver inserts has a ‘u’ value of just 1.1, rejects 80% of solar heat, rejects 99% of UV light and provides a glare reduction of 80%. The enhanced Optimum product with gold inserts performs even better rejecting 85% of solar heat and provides a glare reduction of 87%. Each sheet is a 35mm, seven walled polycarbonate with solar inserts.

In comparison blinds can seem expensive, provide little insulation and reject far less solar heat. The Solaris polycarbonate products will keep the conservatory cool in summer without excessive glare and comes complete with a 10 year warranty.

Andrew Glover, director of Conservatory Outlet Glass concludes: “This is a fantastic product and has already been sold through West Yorkshire Windows and the rest of the Conservatory Outlet dealer network. If you don’t believe me then get in contact and I’ll send you a brochure and free sample! Throughout the home improvement market both consumers and the trade are looking at more environmentally sensitive products and our entire Solaris range of glass and polycarbonate reflects this approach.”