good morning hive mind, went to look at a bargain, big double cellar, 2 reception rooms, 3 beds and this 40yo monstrous knackered dormer, made of mineral felt, and custard it seems, which needs totally stripping off and re doing. its originally been built a foot above the ridge line. question is, if i strip it off, will i be obliged to get planning, or can i just repair the original structure and keep the height? planning currently says any new dormer has to be below the ridge. can i find out if the original dormer even had planning? there is no other dormers on the street.

I know you’ll need to meet modern building regs – but you probably want to upgrade the thermal performance anyway. But I’ll ask the planners at work in an hour..

cheers, i’m going to pop in this arvo

I think if it’s been there more than 6 or 7 years there’s not a lot the planners can do even if they didn’t get planning permission in the first place.
Rip it off and rebuild it to current regs and make it look nicer (i.e. lower the height)

Normally once something has gone to replace will require a new planning application.

You should be able to see planning applications online back to 1974 to see if planning permission was sought at any point after this.

do check that the folk doing the dormer didnt just rip the guts out the existing truss’ to get it up…… check whats left of the roof for signs of wavey roofing and go into the attic/eaves and look for evidence of cut joists or nails removed.

more common than you think.

Normally once something has gone to replace will require a new planning application.

This is how I understand it. If you rip it off then you will need planning to rebuild it. You might be able to patch it up. The fact that it is already there might make getting planning a bit easier, though. Best to speak to the local planners. They are generally pretty helpful.

I think by your own admission you’ve described it as a “dodgy dormer” and if it needs to extend above the ridge tiles to provide adequate head height it is always going to look pants. To sort it properly is a big cost – raise roof height etc.

From a planning perspective if it is just maintenance i.e. the original structure remains and you are just renewing the cladding then you can just proceed without an application.

If it requires taking down and reconstruction then it is considered development and would need a planning permission – which is unlikely if it continues to be above the ridge line.

If it is at the rear and your not in an AONB or some restrictive conservation area and you were to build it below the ridge line it could be permitted development and you’d not need permission.

You can check what permissions relate to the property with your local planning authority either on the phone, through their website or on Planning Portal. They won’t have much detail beyond headline info for really old stuff but it should all be on the system.

Is the house really really cheap?

cheers for replies, sort of confirmed what i thought, OH has emailed planners today. yes its dead cheap, and it wouldn’t be a problem to drop the roof height, for some reason they’ve built the floor up about a foot. any way we put an almost cheeky offer in, lets wait and see