Do You Need Planning Permission To Install A Porch?

Much can be said about your home just from its appearance on the outside. If its front exterior could do with some smartening up, and extra storage space would come in handy for keeping shoes and jackets out of the way, the installation of a UPVC or brick porch will do just the job. 

The cost of buying a porch is a drop in the ocean really when you see how much more stylish it makes your entranceway and how it also helps to improve your home security. 

But it’s not a product you should have fitted until it’s been clarified whether planning permission is necessary for its addition to the house. 

People often don’t realise that porch installations can sometimes be subject to planning laws and think that they just apply to extensions like conservatories and orangeries. 

When a porch intended for installation at a house has Permitted Development Rights, no application for planning permission needs to be made and the fitting can immediately proceed. But to enjoy this status, it must conform with each of the below guidelines:

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.

What you definitely don’t want is to breach planning laws. In the event that you do, at best, your local authority will grant you an opportunity to make a retrospective planning application, but there’s no guarantee this will be accepted. If it isn’t, you will be left with no other choice but to return your entrance back to its original state, and imagine how much hassle and heartache that would cause.

You’re best off entrusting Amber Home Improvements with your porch installation as we will ensure no rules are broken. Visit our Porches page to get the full lowdown on what our porches offer.