Planning Permission

The rules for whether planning permission is required are complex - councils will offer advice on whether planning permission is required or not, and it is recommended that this advice is sought, but these general rules apply:

Planning permission is required if the pergola / gazebo:
  • Will be nearer to any kind of public access (road, footpath etc.) than the nearest part of the original house-unless there will be at least 20m between your extension and the road.
  • Will cover more than half the area of land around the original house.
  • Will be taller than the highest part of the roof of the original house.
  • Will have any part more than 4m high within 2m of your property's boundary
  • that increases the volume of the original house by more than 15% or 70 cubic metres (whichever is greater).
  • Will come within 5m of another building belonging to your house.
  • Will seriously overshadows a neighbour's window that has been there for 20 years or more.
  • Will be in a conservation area or a listed building.
The volumes are all external, not internal, and you can work out the volume of any existing extension using the Planning Volume Calculator.