When is a garage not?

[Bert Coules]

Charles,

Ah, that's useful. Thanks.

[The Natural Philosopher]

in essence they give you instant permissions.

It still is a change of use tho.

And may reflect in council taxes.

[Gazz]

Your joking, so i need to get planning permission every time i shag the missus in the garden?

[Brian Gaff]

Well lots of planning applications around here for converting them into habitable rooms, but they do not say if they have actually kept a wider than normal door. My feeling on it from having seen some is that the old door needs to come out and a wall built, but they can have at least double width doors to the outside. I'd imagine an informal chat to a planning officer might offer some solutions. Brian

[Bert Coules]

I've just set that up; thanks, Brian.

[mark]

The prefix 'substantial' gets you off the hook.

mark

[Bill Wright]

Why can't you have a garage for a motorbike?

Bill

[John Rumm]

My guess would be the garage itself could be permitted development from a PP point of view. However connecting it to the house would bring it under building regs requirements.

[John Rumm]

Sometimes substantial additions under a building notice can trigger a re-evaluation of the council tax band... (ISTR my loft conversion did in my previous house. The actual assessment did not alter the band though in the end)

[John Rumm]

Usually the building regs for having an *internal* garage in a house in the first place are more stringent than for a normal room. So changing use of that to a habitable space is usually easy.

[Reentrant]

My sister-in-law's Local Authority (Camberley) initially objected to them doing this because of loss of off-street parking. They widened the driveway to take two cars and that was accepted.

[Bert Coules]

Even without the use of the garage my drive will take three cars, so I'm hoping that particular objection won't come up.

[Bert Coules]

John, thanks for that and your other comments. Thinking this over this morning, it sees that I have two basic possible approaches:

1 Retain the idea of a garage: build at ground level, with internal steps up to the new linking extension and a door to the drive even though it won't be wide enough for a car. 2 Forget having a garage: build the workshop simply as an additional room, with its floor at the same level as the rest of the house, and have either an extra wide door to the drive with access steps or no door in that wall at all.

[charles]

except, possibly, that the garage might not have a dpc in the foor or cavity walls. Certainly this is the case with my house's original "garage" which is now connected to the house and use as a "workshop".

[John Rumm]

As a future purchaser, I think I would rather have the extra utility space with the option that it might work as a garage if the car is small enough - rather than buy something advertised as a garage that turns out to be too small!

How much of a pain would it be to have the step down inside? If that is not too much problem, then you allow scope for it being used as a garage. If you put the floor in at the higher level then that scope is reduced.

Having said all that build what you want rather than what works best for someone else!

[Bert Coules]

True, but if I build at floor level then the scope exists for the workshop to one day be transformed into a conventional extra room. I might suddenly lose all interest in whale-taxidermy, who knows?

Oh, I shall. It's just that I haven't yet decided exactly what it is I do want. Both approaches have their plusses and their minuses.

[Lobster]

Exactly this issue cropped up in the news the other week - try this:

or

(No I don't read the Mail; but it was the first hit in Google!)

[SteveW]

I'm pretty sure that garages, workshops and sheds come under the same rules, so no problem with differing use or door sizes as far as planning (or more usefully, permitted development) is concerned. However, it being connected to the house (or even too close to it unless they have changed the rules) does bring in building regulations requirements.

SteveW

[Bert Coules]

Fascinating story, thanks for the link. Particularly relevant is this line:

"She said: 'I've asked a number of estate agents about the problem, and at least two have told me that I can't advertise my house as having a garage if I know it doesn't function as a garage." Mind you, to have just bought the place and already be considering how you can advertise it for sale strikes me as a little odd. Doesn't anybody value their house as a home rather than as an asset anymore?

[Bert Coules]

Thanks for that, SteveW.