Planning permission or permitted development
Many smaller extensions can be built under permitted development rights, without a planning application, but there are limits on size, height and position. These rights are restricted for listed buildings, in conservation areas and on some estates, and flats do not have them. The Planning Portal (planningportal.co.uk) has interactive guides. For certainty, you can apply to your council for a Lawful Development Certificate.
Who to ask in Norfolk
Planning applications go to your district council: Breckland, Broadland, Great Yarmouth, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, North Norfolk, Norwich or South Norfolk. In the Broads, the Broads Authority is the planning authority.
Building Regulations
Building Regulations are separate from planning. They cover structure, fire safety, drainage, insulation and more, and most extensions need approval. You can use your council's building control team or a registered building control approver. At the end you should get a completion certificate. Keep it: you will need it when you sell.
The Party Wall Act
If you plan to build on or near the boundary with a neighbour, or dig foundations close to their building, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 may apply. You must give your neighbours written notice before work starts: at least two months for work to a shared wall, and one month for most other notifiable work. gov.uk has guidance on the process.
Choosing professionals
- Architect is a protected title. Check anyone calling themselves an architect is on the Architects Registration Board register (arb.org.uk).
- Chartered surveyors are regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), which has a public directory.
- Ask builders to quote from the same drawings and specification, and agree stage payments.
- Agree who will manage the job day to day and who will apply for approvals.
Driveways and front gardens
If you pave more than five square metres of a front garden with a surface that water cannot drain through, you need planning permission. You do not need it if you use permeable paving, gravel or porous asphalt, or if rainwater runs to a lawn or border on your property. A new or wider dropped kerb needs approval from Norfolk County Council as the highway authority.
Building waste
If you hire a skip or a waste removal firm yourself, check they are a registered waste carrier on the Environment Agency public register. You have a legal duty of care for your waste, and you can be fined if someone you paid fly-tips it.