Garden Room heights explained
You have decided to look into having a garden room built in your garden, but are not sure how tall it can be. In most cases garden rooms come under the permitted development rules, so no formal full planning application is required. Obviously your best bet is to talk to experts like us first who can advise you on everything you can and cannot do, but it’s also good to have an idea in your mind too, so you can enjoy thinking about what you can do with your garden space and understand how big it could be.
Permitted Development
Permitted development rules allow you to build certain structures on your land and for garden rooms states that 2.5m is the maximum height allowed. There is though a caveat. This measurement is taken from the highest point of land immediately next to the garden room. What this means in practice, is that if your land happens to slope, one part of your building may be 2.5m high and at the far end it may need to be higher than the 2.5m to keep it level. This would still fall within permitted development as the measurement is taken from the highest point of ground to the nearest part of your building, which in this case would be the 2.5m point.
This is why some buildings can look like they are contravening the permitted development rules when in fact they are completely legal. However, the highest piece of land must be ‘virgin’ land. That is to say, not land that has been externally raised by decking or paving or other means. Most garden rooms are built on a flat base, so all heights remain the permitted 2.5m or lower.
The other measurement consideration involves boundaries. Most gardens will have three boundaries, the two sides and the rear. When positioning your garden room it is important to make sure that the edges of your building are no closer to any boundary than 100cm. Sometimes boundaries can be blurred by hedges, so it is always best to give a small leeway if possible, just to be on the safe side.
At Hug we create bespoke garden buildings that maximise the space available and utilise our knowledge of permitted development so we can create the best design for the space you have. Once you have an understanding on what you can do in the garden space available, the ideas can flow and your bespoke garden room can take shape.
