Planning permission for an eco-building project

Getting planning permission for an eco-building project will often be no more difficult than for a conventional building. It will depend on the location, and whether specific rules will apply to the look of your building. In some cases, the choice of building material may be a factor. This page gives some tips on how to proceed and gives some links to specialist planning advice.

Bear in mind the distinction between planning permission and building control. Planning is mainly concerned with the size and appearance of the building. Whereas building control regulates structural details and aspects like drainage and fire protection.

To give yourself the best chance of getting planning consent for a new build or renovation project you will need to do a certain amount of research before beginning the application process.

Approval for alternative building methods

The location of your building plot can determine your ability to choose the method for building or extending a house. If your site is in a Conservation Area, National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, you might be restricted to building in the local vernacular. You might have to use stone or brick external walls and have a particular roof finish to satisfy these restrictions.

In some areas, this may be an advantage if you want to build with natural materials. For example, in Devon, there are a lot of traditional cob buildings (a form of vernacular earth & straw building), as well as some beautiful new ones. A timber building may fit well with the traditional style in many places as well.

If your council has a Sustainability Plan, this may be of help in gaining permission for a sustainable, environmentally friendly building. Vernacular building styles are often environmentally friendly in terms of building materials (using lime mortar rather than cement, for example), but it can be more difficult to obtain permission to install measures such as solar panels, high-efficiency glazing, or external wall insulation if your building is in a conservation area or listed.

It may help to find examples of similar buildings in your area (or even similar places elsewhere in the UK) and talk to the owners about how they gained permission for their project and any problems they had to overcome.

Steps to take on the way to submitting an application

• Get contact details for the relevant planning officer from your local council. If you’re within the boundaries of a National Park, the council will tell you if the Park Authority controls planning. Your planning authority will have development plans designating the type of development allowed (whether residential, commercial, agricultural or industrial).
• Find the Local Plan and look up the design statements it gives about requirements for new buildings, or the use of local materials on vernacular buildings, or whatever else is relevant to your project.
• Ask the planning office about any restrictions that might be placed on building plans (see below for more).
• Talk through your plans with your neighbours and make sure that they’re aware of what you want to do. This can prevent objections coming to light later in the process, and helps to avoid delays, extra expense or even the failure of an application.
• Put together your preliminary sketches and make an appointment to discuss your plans with the planning officer. Talking the project through with them before putting in a full application should save you time and money. You can then indentify and address likely problems or hitches and avoid wasting time.

Then submit your outline or full planning application, and wait for approval before starting any work. There will be a period of notice to allow for interested parties to place any comments/objections to your plans. It then proceeds to the council planning committee with a recommendation from the planning officer for either approval or refusal. If the application fails, you can appeal.

Restrictions that may apply to renovation, alteration or new build projects

• Planning law covers land use as well as buildings. This means that you’re very likely to need planning permission to change the way land is used. This applies even to things such as changing a field to a garden.
• Ask your solicitor to ensure that there are no covenants or other restrictions listed on your property deeds. There might be restrictions on further building for a number of years, or ongoing rights of access.
• Your ability to make alterations to your property or land may be limited in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a National Park, a Site of Special Scientific Interest or a Conservation Area. These restrictions generally override ‘permitted development’ rights that otherwise apply to some building work. For example, you’ll need to check about getting permission to add a conservatory, porch or garage.
• For a listed building, you’ll need to apply for listed buildings consent in addition to planning permission.
• Alterations affecting public utilities such as drains, sewers or footpaths will require consultation with the council.
• If your property is home to a legally protected species such as bats or owls, you’ll need to check with your planning authority about approving any works that may disturb them.
• Tree Preservation Orders may control the extent to which you can fell or even prune a tree. Trees in conservation areas are usually protected and so any work affecting them could need at least six weeks’ notice.

Further Information

For some additional details, see our questions and answers section below.

For more detailed advice, the book How to Get Planning Permission may be useful to you.

Chapter 7 is the Planning office of ‘The Land is Ours’. They publish a DIY Planning Handbook and have some very useful help available online, especially for rural developments.

The Planning Portal collects together advice and documents about planning permission. You may be able to get a certain amount of free advice through Planning Aid in England, Scotland or Wales.

There are some useful examples of how various types of projects got planning permission on the low-impact website.

The One Planet Council have advice and examples of the Welsh One Planet Development planning policy. This aims to provide an affordable and sustainable way for people to live and work on their own land, for example the Lammas Eco-village.

‘Self-build’ does not necessarily mean doing the physical work yourself, just overseeing the project and the finances. You could find ecobuilders & architects through the AECB or Passivhaus Trust to do the design & construction work. They could also help with the permissions you need.