HI

I plan to take this to the council, but asking here for advice also.

We want an extension on the side of the house converting the garage,then bringing the front of the extension inline with the front of the house, however what we are allowed to do apparently relates to the “Principle Elevation” of the house

Permitted development says – No extension forward of the principal elevation or side elevation fronting a highway.

I do not know what the principle elevation of the house is, is it the wall that makes up most of the front of the house, or is it the wall set back a metre or so which has the front door on it?

Pics from streetview below, can we build in line with the wall of the porch infront of the front door so the roof line on the ground floor goes straight across, or do we need to set the wall back inline with where the front door is to be done under Permitted Development?

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4660861,0.050117,3a,75y,312.3h,92.58t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sG5f_vDTlAlJT1y-KR7BJCQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DG5f_vDTlAlJT1y-KR7BJCQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D101.779945%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

I would have said the forwardmost wall (the bays/porch) as that is part of the original dwelling but you are right to ask your local Planning Dept. because it could be open to interpretation and they can give you a definitive answer.

Other things of course affect “Permitted Development”. Is it a garage conversion / single storey or are you building upwards too? Are you extending rearwards?

The Principal Elevation is the front of the house normally – the main frontage façade.

In the OP’s case I would be fairly confident in saying it is the forwardmost front wall of the house – i.e. forward of the wall with the front door in it.

There are various commentary pieces on the web about this definition.  Not English but useful nonetheless is here.

Edit: in Best STW style I hadn’t looked at the pic.  I can see why you’re unsure.  Technically I think it could be argued that the ground floor façade defines the principal elevation but it could also be argued that the first floor that goes up the roof is it.  In design terms an extension would probably look better aligned with that first floor frontage.  It’s definitely worth discussing with the LPA.

In my experience it’s very vague. We have a house with an attached garage that sticks out of the front elevation by some 20ft. We wanted to convert a ‘picture bay’ window into a proper bay and (even though it was some 20ft back from the front of the garage door) it wasn’t permitted and we had to get planning as it changed the footprint of the front (ie, roadside) of the house even though all we did was go down – we didn’t go further out or wider, simply put a bit of wall in under what existed and took out approx 2ft x 8ft of what was originally counted of being the footprint. It cost us some £800 to get the drawings done and planning approved.

Assuming the frontage is all original. I think you can have 3 principle elevations.

You also need to take into account that you also have 2 side elevations there. Back from the bay to the front door and from the front door to the garage. So you’d have to have an extension that is less than 50% of the width of the original house.

You should check the technical manual from

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/606669/170405_Householder_Technical_Guidance__-April_2017_FINAL.pdf

I’d just apply for planning, it’s cheap, only takes 7 weeks and removes any uncertainty. You can draw up the diagrams yourself, no need for an architect.

our council offers a pre planning advice service. It is online now, you used to be able to go into a walk in clinic for free. It is cheaper than full permission and is quicker. A 7 week wait for planning?!! Not in Herefordshire.Double that at least

Three bins, thinly veiled humble brag post is obvious thinly veiled humble brag post.

Ask your neighbours what they did – converting the garage seems a popular thing to do! 🙂

A 7 week wait for planning?!! Not in Herefordshire.Double that at least

Still tiny compared with waiting for a free slot from a builder in the South East, most are booked up for a year or more in advance.

Assuming yours is the house with the garage set back then you may fall foul of the local amenity interpretations. Your proposal amy make that section look like a terrace frontage rather than all semi-detatched. A couple of these near to my house have been knocked back for this.