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Do I need planning permission for external insulation?
Planning permission may be required for external insulation if it impacts the external appearance of the building. If materials are of a similar appearance to those used in the construction of the house, then permission will likely not be required.
Listed buildings will require listed building consent for any significant work.
If you live in a Conservation Area or other protected area you will need to apply for planning permission before making changes to the outside of your house.
Further information and building regulations advice is available on Planning Portal. Read our external walls common project.
Common Questions
If you plan to put up a small, detached building like a garden shed, garden room, garden office, annexe or summerhouse (all classed as outbuildings), building regulations generally won’t apply if the building has a floor area under 15 square metres and does not include any sleeping accommodation.
For buildings with a floor area between 15 and 30 square metres, building regulations approval is usually not needed - as long as the building does not include sleeping accommodation and either:
- it is at least one metre away from any boundary, or
- it is built mainly from non-combustible materials.
Read more about the building regulations that apply to outbuildings.
Don't forget to check the permitted development rights for outbuildings.
Widening or creating a new external doorway will likely fall under permitted development rights, meaning an application for planning permission is not required provided you meet limits and conditions set out in legislation. If the change is on the side or rear of the building it is more likely to comply with planning regulations.
If you live in a listed building, you will have to apply for listed building consent for any significant works, whether internal or external.
New external doorways which create a new or widened opening must comply with building regulations as they may impact the structure of a building.
Work that requires building control approval will require a completion notice to be submitted to the building control body. The completion notice must be sent within five days of the work being completed, once submitted, the building control body can visit the site to complete a final inspection.
If the work meets the required standards they will issue a completion certificate.
Once submitted, your planning application first goes through a validation process. After its validated, the formal decision period is 8 weeks. However, in some cases, especially for more complex proposals or if further information is needed, your local authority may request an extension of time.
Understand more about the decision-making process on Planning Portal
Certain types of development are granted planning permission by national legislation without the need to submit a planning application. This is known as 'permitted development'. In order to be eligible for these permitted development rights, each 'class' specified in the legislation has associated limitations and conditions that proposals must comply with.
One such condition on certain classes of permitted development is the need to submit an application to the local planning authority for its 'prior approval; or to determine if it’s 'prior approval' will be required.
This allows the local planning authority to consider the proposals, their likely impacts in regard to certain specific factors (e.g. transport and highways) and how these may be mitigated.
For more information on prior approval, read guidance on prior approval consent types.
