Once consent has been granted the work must start within three years, otherwise the consent expires. Unlike Building Control, officers are unlikely to visit the works to check its compliance. Development Control is essentially reactive, in that it relies on complaints to alert the authority of breaches of planning law. That should not lull you into a false sense of security - the British public is incredibly vigilant, and all authorities have enforcement officers ready to act.’
Harris cautions that the layers of planning law are dense and the system is very involved. ‘Most applications,’ he notes, ‘are passed with relatively simple information, but problematic ones can require mountains of documentation. There are specialist consultants and lawyers who will assist in such cases. In general, an architect or a similar professional will handle applications.’
‘Outline information about your area can be obtained from the Planning Department who may have design guidelines for your area. They will also offer a face-to-face consultation with a Duty Planning Officer. The Planning Portal is a mine of information and has all the relevant legislation available to download, as well as a service allowing you to make the application itself electronically.’
Anyone considering undertaking significant building work, such as a loft extension or a rear addition, should bear in mind that whilst they no longer need to apply for planning permission, they should let their buildings insurer know of the planned changes before they commence any work or they could invalidate their insurance cover.
A survey by Sainsbury's Home Insurance finds that 5.3 million homeowners (21 per cent) plan to undertake major structural changes to their properties between May 2008 and May 2009. Anyone looking to undertake structural changes that will increase the size of their property should inform their buildings insurer first in order to ensure that they are fully covered for the increased value of their home.
The findings show that 1.3 million homeowners say they are planning to convert their loft or roof and 950,000 are planning a rear extension to their property. Only 37 per cent of people planning on carrying out loft or roof conversions and 16 per cent of those planning on building rear extensions said that they were not aware that they had to inform their home buildings insurer before the works started.
Neil Laird, Sainsbury’s Home Insurance Manager, said: ‘Buildings insurance premiums are calculated based on the type of house, for example the number of bedrooms it has, so creating extra rooms can have an impact on your premium even if you have unlimited cover.
‘We want to make sure that homeowners are aware that they could be left underinsured or even invalidate their insurance entirely in the event of an incident during or after the works if they have not informed their insurer first.’
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