Householder permitted development rights: guidance - updated 2021

Guidance explaining householder permitted development rights and what can be built without submitting a planning application.


9. Glossary

the 1992 Order

the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992, as amended. The main amendments for the purposes of householder development are:

Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Domestic Microgeneration) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2009

Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Domestic Microgeneration) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2010

Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2011

Advertisement

any word, letter, model, sign, placard, board, notice, awning, blind, device or representation, whether illuminated or not, in the nature of, and employed wholly or partly for the purposes of, advertisement, announcement or direction (excluding any such thing employed wholly as a memorial or as a railway signal), and includes any hoarding or similar structure or any balloon used or adapted for use and anything else used, or designed or adapted principally for use, for the display of advertisements.

Advertisement Consent

a consent granted for the display of an advertisement by either the express consent of the planning authority or Scottish Ministers in accordance with the provisions of The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (Scotland) Regulations 1984 or deemed to be granted in accordance with part IV of the same regulations.

Air Quality Management Area

has the meaning given in section 83(1) of the Environment Act 1995.

Article 4 Direction

a direction, usually made by a planning authority and approved by Scottish Ministers, where in a particular area, particular permitted developments rights are not applicable.

ASHP

air source heat pumps.

Balcony

a platform, enclosed by a wall or balustrade, projecting outward from the external wall of a building, with access from an upper floor window or door.

Conservation Area

an area of special architectural or historic interest [the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance] designated under Section 61 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

Conservation Area Consent

consent granted under the above mention that for demolition of an unlisted building within a conservation area.

Class

a class of development to which permitted development rights apply because planning permission is granted by the 1992 Order.

Curtilage

curtilage is not defined in the 1997 Act or 1992 Order but it is accepted to mean land which is used for the comfortable enjoyment of a building and which serves the purpose of that building in some necessary or reasonably useful way. It need not be marked off or enclosed in any way. Normally the curtilage would relate to the property boundary of the dwellinghouse.

Class 18B

Class 18B of the GPDO. Class 18B allows the change of use of an agricultural building and associated curtilage to use as a dwelling and certain associated building operations to convert the building to that use.

Class 22A

Class 22A of the GPDO. Class 22A allows the change of use of an agricultural building and associated curtilage to use as a dwelling and certain associated building operations to convert the building to that use.

Domestic microgeneration

means the production of electricity or heat for domestic consumption using microgeneration equipment.

Dwellinghouse

a residential property, not including a building containing one or more flats, or a flat contained within such a building.

Eaves height

the height of the eaves should be measured at the base of the external wall of the extension to the point where the external wall would meet (if projected upwards) the upper surface of the roof slope. Parapet walls and overhanging parts of eaves should not be included in any calculation of eaves height.

Enlargement of dwellinghouses

any development that increases the internal volume of the original dwellinghouse and includes a canopy or roof, with or without walls, which is attached to the dwellinghouse, but does not include a balcony.

Enlargement for flats

means any development that increases the internal volume of the original building, and includes a canopy or roof, with or without walls, which is attached to the building but does not include a balcony.

Free-standing solar

means solar photovoltaics or solar thermal equipment which is not installed on a building.

Free-standing wind turbine

means a wind turbine which is not installed on a building.

Flat

means a separate and self-contained set of premises whether or not on the same floor and forming part of building from some other part of which it is divided horizontally.

Fronts

an elevation which face onto a road.

General Permitted Development Order (GPDO)

a statutory instrument granting permitted development rights.

Listed Building

a building of special architectural or historic interest included in a list compiled or approved by the Scottish Ministers under Section 1 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997, any object or structure fixed to the building or which, while not fixed, forms part of the land within its curtilage since before 1 July 1948 and still in that curtilage at the date of listing.

a list of listed building is available from Historic Scotland www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/historicandlistedbuildings.

Listed Building Consent

consent granted under the above mentioned Act for demolition of a listed building, or alteration that would affect its character.

MCS Planning Standards

the product and installation standards for air source heat pumps specified in the Microgeneration Certification Scheme MCS 020(a).

MWT

means micro wind turbines.

Microgeneration

has the meaning given in section 82(6) of the Energy Act 2004 which equipment with an output of up to 50 kilowatts of electricity or 45 kilowatts of thermal (heat) energy.

Original dwellinghouse

is the dwellinghouse as built or as it was on 1 July 1948 if it was built before then.

Permitted Development (PD)

planning permission granted for certain classes of development by the 1992 Order. Also known as Permitted Development Rights (PDR).

Permitted Development Legislation

permitted development rights are granted by the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992, as amended. The 1992 Order grants planning permission for classes of specific types of developments, but most classes are subject to a set of limitations and conditions. The relevant pieces of legislation can be found on www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2011/357/contents/made.

Principal elevation

the elevation of the original dwellinghouse which by virtue of its design or setting, or both, is the principal elevation.

Rear curtilage of a tenement

in relation to a tenement, means land which—

(a) pertains to two or more flats contained within the tenement, and

(b) is situated adjacent to the rear elevation of the tenement,

In this context, “rear elevation” means the elevation of the tenement that is opposite to its principal elevation, and “tenement” means a building containing one or more flats.

Rear elevation

the elevation of the original dwelling that is opposite its principal elevation.

Road

as defined by section 151 of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984. A road is any way over which there is a public right of passage including its verge. A road is therefore not confined to only publicly adopted roads used by motor vehicles.

Road Construction Consent

a permission which must be obtained from the roads authority before constructing a new road or extending an existing road, in accordance with Section 21 of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984.

Side elevation

the elevation of the original dwelling linking the principal elevation with the rear elevation.

Solar PV

solar photovoltaics: which is equipment designed to convert energy from the sun into electricity.

Solar thermal

means equipment designed to heat water using energy from the sun.

Terrace house

means a dwellinghouse situated in a row of three or more buildings used, or designed for use, as single dwellinghouses; and having a mutual wall with, or having a main wall adjoining the main wall of, the dwellinghouse (or building designed for use as a dwellinghouse) on either side of it. It includes the dwellinghouses at each end of such a row of buildings as is referred to.

the 1997 Act

the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 as amended.

the 2006 Act

the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006.

World Heritage Site

land appearing on the World Heritage List kept under article 11(2) of the 1972 UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

Contact

Email: Chief.Planner@gov.scot

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