do your buildings require planning permission?

Outbuildings are considered to be “permitted development”, not needing planning permission, subject to a number of limits and conditions. These include the height, proximity to a boundary, the floor area in relation to the existing house and whether the garden is on “Designated Land”. More details can be found on the Planning Portal website or on the Government website’s more detailed technical guidance.

We’ve designed these buildings so that they meet Permitted Development criteria, so in most cases, no planning permission required. That said, with our pitched roof design being greater than 2.5 metres in height, it would need to be more than 2 metres from the boundary of the curtilage of the house to be permitted development.

We can also build almost any size of building (being a modular home manufacturer), so if you’re wanting something larger and don’t mind going through the planning process, then please take a look at www.wudl.co.uk and get in touch to discuss your requirements.

Buildings that can be defined as being ‘caravans’ and are within the curtilage of the house can be used for additional living accommodation or by family members, but not as a separate, independent dwelling wouldn’t need planning permission. A caravan is defined as being “any structure designed or adapted for human habitation which is capable of being moved from one place to another (whether being towed, or by being transported on a motor vehicle or trailer) and any motor vehicle so designed or adapted but does not include.” Instead of building on ground screws, we would use a galvanised steel chassis with axles and wheels, although the wheels can be taken off and stored.

and what about Building Regulations?

Because of the high standard of our Sojourn range, the buildings fully comply with current building regulations. However, in most cases, this isn’t required (see requirements here), so long as:

• the floor area is less than 15 square metres and there is no sleeping accommodation; or

• the floor area is between 15 and 30 square metres, with no sleeping accommodation, and the building is at least one metre from any boundary or is made substantially of non-combustible materials.
  

We’ll assess each project and confirm whether or not approval will be required.

For information, the thermal performance of the building fabric is:

• U-value (walls, roof & floor): 0.26W/m2K

• U-value (doors & windows): 1.15W/m2K

what are the foundations?

Our buildings sit on steel ground screws that are supplied and installed by No More Digging. They take no more than a day to install and there’s no (high carbon) concrete in the ground.

do you assemble them?

We can arrange for the building to be fully assembled or alternately you may wish to do this yourself. All of the building components are delivered direct from our factory and from our suppliers, to keep transport costs (and carbon!) to a minimum.

We provide a full set of assembly instructions that are easy to follow - including the foundations, assembly should take 10 days.

Please click here for what a typical assembly programme (and costs) would be.

how sustainable are they?

The buildings consist of a timber frame structure fully insulated with recycled materials. As timber is a regenerative material and stores carbon, the majority of the building is therefore negative carbon.

However, with the overall carbon footprint of the building being positive, as we still need to use materials such as aluminium and a small amount of virgin plastic, we offset the surplus by planting trees.

We can provide further details on request.

where are the garden buildings made?

We have a small factory in Manchester where we build the full building’s panellised system (the wall, floor and roof panels). We can then deliver these to anywhere in the UK.

Our engineered timber comes from Finland, sheet materials are from Ireland, the insulation is from a company based in Penrith in Cumbria, the doors and windows come direct from Denmark and the building membranes are German.

how do I place an order?

First of all, please give us a call on 0161 225 4000 - let’s discuss your requirements.

Once you’re happy with the proposal and the cost, to place an order, we require a 30% deposit, followed by a 50% payment when we commence production and a final 20% on completion of the building.

Delivery is normally 10 weeks from placing an order and assembly takes 2 weeks.

can these be used as ‘tiny homes’ or holiday accommodation?

Being able to meet Building Regulations, our buildings can be used as tiny homes, incorporating a small wet room, a kitchenette, and a raised bed deck with hidden storage below. They will, however, need Planning Permission as they are a new dwelling. This is something we can assist with, together with our Planning Consultant. If a mortgage is required, we may need to set the building on a permanent (concrete) foundation.

If a slightly larger building is required, our Wudl 4 homes may be more appropriate, which are available in either a flat roof or pitched roof design - please visit www.wudl.co.uk/designs for more details.

There are also many other uses for these buildings, such as Changing Places toilets or a small gym.

what makes your buildings different to all the other garden rooms on the market?

As Architects we’ve spent a huge amount of time detailing and testing all of the materials and details to ensure they perform to the highest standards - our garden buildings are built to exactly the same very high standards as our permanent homes that have a minimum 60-year life expectancy and are mortgageable.

That said though, they are a much slimmed-down version of our homes - we didn’t want to over-engineer a garden building and make them totally unaffordable.

Another differentiator between our range and the countless other garden rooms available, is that these have a pitched roof design and therefore offer a (very spacious feeling) high-level ceiling, whilst still meeting the Permitted Development criteria for Planning. The eaves are 2.5 metres high and the overall height is just under 4 metres.

In addition to focusing on very high quality materials, we’re also ensuring they are incredibly healthy (zero VOC emissions, vapour permeable, etc) and environmentally sustainable. This is reflected in the price.

Sure there will be far cheaper buildings out there, but please ensure you compare like-for like.