Garden Shed Planning Permission: Everything You Need to Know

If you want to build a new garden shed, you need to find out whether you need planning permission. If you don’t do this, you might end up having to pull down your shed in the future.

To make sure that you can enjoy your new shed for years to come, keep reading to find out everything you need to know about garden shed planning permission.

What’s planning permission?

Planning laws exist to control urban and rural development. They mainly regulate the size and appearance of new and existing structures.

Under these laws, there are some home improvement jobs that you have to ask for permission for before you can do them. This involves completing a planning permission application and submitting it to your local authority. They will review your application and decide whether or not to give you permission to do the work.

Do I need garden shed planning permission?

You don’t usually need to apply for planning permission to build a garden shed, as long as you follow these rules:

  • The shed isn’t in front of your house
  • It doesn’t have any balconies or raised platforms
  • It’s single story
  • If it’s within 2 metres of your home, it’s no higher than 2.5 metres
  • If it isn’t within 2 metres of your home, its eaves aren’t taller than 2.5 metres, its flat roof isn’t over 3 metres tall, or its pitched roof isn’t over 4 metres tall
  • No more than half the land around your home has other buildings on

There are also some additional rules if your property is on designated land, like an Area of Outstanding Beauty, National Park or World Heritage Site. If this is the case, your shed can only be at the back of your property. Also, any land over 20 metres away from your house can only be covered with no more than 10 square metres of outbuilding.

If you don’t want to follow any of these rules, or you have a listed property, then you’ll need to apply for planning permission. You should wait to find out the result of your application before you do any work.

You can apply for garden shed planning permission by getting in touch with your local authority. You’ll be able to find their contact details on your local council’s website.