When it comes to transforming your garden into the outdoor space of your dreams, it’s not just design ideas and landscaping budget that you need to consider, you might also need planning permission. For many homeowners, navigating the rules surrounding planning permission for landscaping can seem daunting, but with a little clarity and information on the appropriate rules, you can approach your landscaping or garden design project confidently.
Do I Need Planning Permission for Landscaping My Garden?
In this guide, we will break down what planning permission is, when it is required for landscaping projects, and how to ensure your good garden makeover stays within the rules. Whether you’re planning to alter a fence, pave your front garden, add a shed or create a beautiful back garden retreat, understanding what planning permission and building regulations are is vital.
What is Planning Permission?
Planning permission is official and formal consent granted by your local planning authority, allowing you to start your landscaping project and make any changes to your property or land. This ensures that changes, such as significant landscaping projects, don’t negatively impact neighbouring properties or the local area.
While many changes to your garden fall under permitted development rights (explained bellow), larger projects, such as installing outbuildings or raised decking platforms, might require planning permission and therefore, it is always best to check with your local planning department before starting any new landscaping projects or making additions to your home.
What is Permitted Development?
Permitted development allows for homeowners make certain changes without the need to apply for planning permission. Many garden projects, like small patios or pathways, fall under elements of garden design that don’t need planning permission.
However, as most good garden designers and landscape experts know, larger landscaping projects might exceed these allowances and might need official approval before work begins and before any changes or additions are made.
If you’re unsure whether your project qualifies, always check with your local council to confirm to avoid any potential issues. For example, paving your front garden with porous materials (i.e. materials that allow for moisture and water to soak into the ground naturally) may not require planning permission. But if a non-porous material is used or if your home is near a listed building or an area designated as a conservation area, you likely need planning permission to pave your front garden.
When is Planning Permission Needed for Landscaping?
Most routine gardening tasks, such as planting flowers, or creating flower beds, don’t normally need planning permission. However, there are instances where approval is necessary. Below are some common scenarios where you might need to seek planning permission:
Significant Hard Landscaping: Driveways, Decking, Paving Your Front Garden
If you’re planning to build extensive hard landscaping features, such as patios, driveways, or decking platforms, you might need planning permission. This is particularly true if:
- The area being paved exceeds five square metres and uses impermeable surfaces that do not allow rainwater to soak into the ground.
- You are located near a listed building or in a conservation area.
Installing Fences, Walls, and Gates
Altering or installing a fence, wall, or enclosure may require planning permission, especially if:
- The gate, wall or fence is over two metres high.
- You share a boundary with a listed building or your building is within a conservation area.
- It’s adjacent to a public road, where the height limit then cannot exceed one metre (exceptions apply).
Garden Room, Buildings, Sheds and Structures
Adding a garden room, shed, greenhouse, outbuildings etc often falls under permitted development. However, you’ll need to ensure that:
- The structure is to be added at the back of the house
- It isn’t use as a separate residence of any kind
- The structure does not take up more than 50% of the garden.
- It does not exceed certain height restrictions.
Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas, Tree Preservation Orders and Terrain Alterations
Properties in a conservation area or those classified as a listed building face stricter rules. Even small changes to your garden, like altering a hedge, are thinks you may need to check as they may require official approval.
If your garden has trees protected by Tree Preservation Orders, you’ll need permission from your local council before cutting or pruning trees.
Excavating or significantly changing the level of your garden, such as creating terraces or large ponds, might require planning permission. Therefore, it is best to request the help of experts and to check whether and what kind of permission and approval you might require to ensure that you are fully compliant.
Tips for Ensuring Proper Compliance
Check with Your Local Planning Department Early
Confirm whether your project needs permission from your local council to comply with planning regulations. It is best to do this as soon as possible as leaving this to the last minute could cause significant delays to your landscaping project.
Hire Expert Landscapers
Reputable landscaping professionals like ours at GGM Landscaping understand the rules and regulations surrounding different garden projects and can guide you through the process from start to finish. For example, when our experts at GGM Landscaping take on large scale commercial projects we ensure that we comply with both building regulations and local regulations.
Account for External Factors – Boundary Rules, Drainage Systems, Neighbouring Properties
When taking on a landscaping project, external factors always come in to play. Being prepared to handle these are crucial to the success of your landscaping efforts. Understanding boundary rules, tree preservation orders (TPOs) and local drainage systems and project’s potential impact on your neighbours or the local environment in general can help make the entire process move forward in a more seamless and time-efficient manner.
Before making changes to their gardens, homeowners should know the requirements for each type of development, including fences and hedges. For example, you could consider opting for permeable surfaces for patios and driveways to prevent the risk of flooding and to meet planning regulations.
What Happens If You Skip Planning Permission?
Not looking at the planning permission guidelines and actively opting not to apply for it when your landscaping project demands it, likely means that your local council would issue an official enforcement notice, if they deem it to be a breach of planning control.
In extreme cases, receiving an enforcement notice may mean that you might need to remove or dismantle the newly installed features entirely. This could be a impermeable driveway or brand new decking and as you can imagine, this can add an unnecessary financial burden onto a homeowner from dealing with costly legal issues to the removal of non-compliant features.
Contact Us for Expert Landscaping Glasgow Services
Whether you’re paving a driveway, or adding an enclosure, planning ahead ensures success. At GGM Landscaping, we seen it all when it comes to planning landscaping projects both big and small for both residential and commercial clients.
Whether it’s hard landscaping and soft landscaping like creating flower beds or adding features to your garden, our experts can help you avoid common landscaping mistakes and ensure compliance with local regulations. From understanding the type of development required to meeting building regulations approval, our experienced team ensures your vision aligns with planning rules.
If you’re looking for an award-winning Scottish landscaping company with experts who can help, call our friendly team at GGM Landscaping on 07946 322717 or simply fill out a contact form and we will get back to your shortly.