Useful Information

This provides links to useful information in relation to planning. To access this information click on the links below : -

• Supplementary Planning Guidance
• Planning Advice
• How to apply online
• Development Control Charter Guide

Supplementary Planning Guidance

Supplementary Planning Guidance documents have been prepared, setting out criteria and advice to secure acceptable development. Also Further Planning Guidance can be found at the back of the Wear Valley District Local Plan.

Click on the relevant guidance to access the full document.

Planning Advice

Work you can carry out without permission

This section provides some general guidance on minor domestic works that in principle can normally be carried out without planning permission. However, professional advice should always be sought before carrying out any works, as the regulations are complex. Particular care must be taken if the house is a within a conservation area, affected by an Article 4 Direction or in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

If your property is a listed building, listed building consent will be required to carry out alterations and extensions.

To find out if one or more of these applies to your property please contact the Development Control Team either: -

• By telephone on 01388 765555
• By email planningcrook@durham.gov.uk
• By visiting the Civic Centre in Crook
• Or you can write to us at Durham County Council, Area Planning Office, Civic Centre, Crook, DL15 9ES.

This section contains information on the following topics

• Extensions and other alterations
• Roof Extensions
• Swimming pools, garages, garden sheds and greenhouses
• Porches
• Containers
• Hardstanding
• Gates, Fences or Walls
• Satellite antenna
• Painting of the exterior

Extensions and other alterations - planning permission may not be required providing

1. If the house is in a terrace or in a conservation area or the North Pennines AONB, the extension must not exceed 50m3 or 10% when measured externally, whichever is the greater. In other cases the limit is 70m3 or 15% of the volume of the original house, whichever is the greater. If the house has been extended before, the volume of the previous extensions must be added to the new work and together they must not exceed the limit. In both cases an overall maximum allowance of 115 cubic metres applies.
2. No part of the extension must project above the highest part of the original house roof.
3. No part of the building enlarged must be nearer to any highway which bounds the curtilage of the dwelling house than the part of the original house nearest to the highway or any point 20 metres from that highway, whichever is nearer to the highway.
4. No part of any extension, within two metres of a boundary, must exceed four metres in height.
5. The total area of the buildings does not exceed one-half of the total area of the curtilage of the dwelling house.
6. Within a conservation area or the North Pennines AONB, no cladding of any part of the exterior with stone, artificial stone, timber, plastic or tiles may be carried out without planning permission.

Roof extensions – planning permission may not be required providing:

1. The extension does not exceed the highest part of the existing roof.
2. The extension does not extend beyond an existing roof slope which fronts a highway (a footpath may be a highway for the purpose of this provision).
3. The cubic content of the house is not increased by more than 40m3, in the case of a terraced house, or 50m3 in any other case.

As with other extensions, the cubic content of the original house must not be increased beyond the limits as set out in the Extensions and Other Alterations Section. If the house has been extended before, the volume of this must be added to the roof extension and together be less than the relevant limit.

4. The house is not in a conservation area or the North Pennines AONB.

Swimming Pools, Garages, Garden Sheds, and Greenhouses and any other building or enclosure incidental to the enjoyment of the dwelling house – planning permission may not be required providing:

1. The development is not within 20m of a highway. If the original house is less than 20m from a highway, any development must not be nearer the highway than the original house.
2. Any building greater than 10 cubic metres is not within 5 meters of the house. Such buildings may sometimes be covered by the restrictions in the Extensions and Other Alterations section.
3. In the case of a building with a ridged roof, its height does not exceed four metres and, in any other case, does not exceed three metres.
4. Any building is not greater than 10 cubic metres, if the house is listed or if it is in a conservation area or the North Pennines AONB.
5. The total area of any development does not exceed half of the total area of the curtilage of the dwelling house.
6. With regards to garages, an application for planning permission will be needed to form or alter an access to a classified road.

Porches - planning permission may not be required providing:

1. The floor area (measured externally) does not exceed three square metres.
2. It is not more than three metres above ground level.
3. It is not within two metres of any boundary with a highway (a footpath may be a highway for the purposes of this provision).

Containers for storage of oil for domestic heating – planning permission may not be required providing:

1. Their capacity is not more than 3,500 litres
2. They are not more that 3 metres above ground.

They would not be nearer to any highway which bounds the curtilage of the original dwelling house or any point 20 metres from that highway.

Hardstanding within the garden of a house for domestic purposes – planning permission may not be required providing:

1. It is for any purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the dwelling house.
2. An application for planning permission will be required to form or alter an access onto a classified road – consent will always be required from the Highway Authority to form or alter an access onto an adopted highway.

Gates, fences or walls - planning permission may not be required providing:

1. They do not exceed one metre in height next to a highway used by vehicles or two metres in any other case.
2. They do not exceed the height of any existing gate, fence or wall if these are greater than the heights referred to above.
3. The house is not a listed building.

Satellite Antenna - planning permission may not be required providing:

1. It does not exceed 90cm in any dimension, or 45cm if installed on a chimney.
2. There is no other satellite antenna on the house or within the garden.
3. It is not higher than the highest part of the roof or the highest part of the chimney if installed on a chimney.
4. In the case of a dwelling in a conservation area and the North Pennines AONB permision is not required provided the satelite antenna is not to be located on a chimney; the building is less than 15m in height and the wall or roofslope where the antenna is to be attached does not front a highway.

The painting of the exterior - planning permission may not be required providing:

1. It is not for the purpose of advertisement, announcement or direction.

More planning information can be found on the central Government website, Planning- A Guide for Householders, Planning Permission: A guide for Businesses and A Farmers Guide to the Planning System. General information can also be found through the Planning Portal.

For information about whether planning permission is required and for pre-application advice please contact the Development Control Team in one of the following ways: -

• By telephone on 01388 765555
• By email planningcrook@durham.gov.uk
• By visiting the Civic Centre in Crook
• Or you can write to us at Durham County Council, Area Planning Office, Civic Centre, Crook, DL15 9ES.