Garden Annexes And The Caravan Act
When you are building a granny annexe you need to take certain things into account. A major thing you need to think about is planning permission.
If you do not have planning permission, then you cannot build your granny annexe, so you need to make sure it is something you get early on in the granny annexe building process.
What Is Planning Permission and Why Do I Need It?
Planning permission refers to the approval needed for construction, expansion, and demolition and is the thing that allows you to build on your property. You absolutely need to have planning permission before you can even start to do any work on building your granny annexe.
Planning permission and the approval of your build usually falls to the local council. They need to make sure that the granny annexe you plan to build will not be a hindrance or cause any issue. Sometimes in built-up areas, a granny annexe can end up blocking a neighbour’s sunlight or it could be a safety risk if the annexe is blocking important exits in the garden.
Planning permission will look at other things as well. It’s important that it is safe to build an annexe on your property and that it will make a good living space when it is done. When you get planning permission you will need to check that you can get water and sewage pumps safely to the building without causing any disruption. Similarly, you will also need to be able to get electricity to the granny annexe in a way that will not cause you, your loved ones or your neighbour’s harm.
You cannot ignore the planning permission aspect of building any kind of structure on your property and if you willingly neglect to apply for planning permission, or you choose to ignore it if you have your build denied then you are breaking the law.
Different types of builds will require different types of planning permission. Planning permission for a granny annexe can be obtained using something called the caravan act.
What Is The Caravan Act?
The caravan act was introduced in 1968 and states that you can keep a caravan on your property, but you can keep and build other things on your property providing they fit the caravan acts description of a caravan.
Section 13 of the caravan act gives detailed measurements of what size something needs to fall under to be allowed on the property. Fortunately, these dimensions are quite large and can easily make a granny annexe that is a comfortable living space. Whilst the act specifies that the structure must be movable, it does not specify that it needs to have wheels. All of the annexes are built offsite and then transported to the location that you would like it to stay, so they still fit under the caravan act.
The maximum dimensions allowed under the act are.
- Depth – External 6.8metres (22 feet 3 3/4 inches)
- Length – External 20 metres (65 feet 7 1/2 inches)
- Ceiling Height – Internal 3.05 metres (10 feet 0 inches)
How Can Family Annexe Help Me Get Planning Permission?
Here at Family Annexe all of our granny annexes are designed to comply with the caravan act meaning getting planning permission for your granny annexe can be a smooth painless process.
When you get your granny annexe designed and built by Family Annexe, we do all the hard work for you, including getting the planning permission.
Getting the planning permission can be the most stressful part of the building process, with family annexe we take care of all the hard work for you. you will be included and involved in the entire design and building process, but we make sure your job is to take care of your family, while we take care of the other, more stressful side of building a granny annexe.
Get In Touch
If you would like to find out more about granny annexes, get in touch with Family Annexe. We have six unique annexe models available, each providing a safe and cost-effective solution to elderly care.
Family Annexe has an efficient seven-step process, designed to make your annexe experience stress-free and enjoyable. This starts with a free, no-obligation consultation!
