Save £1000s on professional advice
Early Bird Offer! Free tickets to meet independent experts at this summer's Build It Live
Save £24 - Book Now!Early Bird Offer! Free tickets to meet independent experts at this summer's Build It Live
Save £24 - Book Now!Estimate your project costs instantly with Build It's interactive self-build cost calculator
Calculate NowGet an accurate, detailed cost breakdown of your project
Submit plansI have a plot of land with a slope on it with an old stone retaining wall.
I am awaiting planning permission for a single dwelling.
My question is: can I demolish and rebuild said retaining wall and extend it somewhat before planning permission is granted?
The entirety of the wall is within my land, and about 15m from any boundary.
If the wall was no more than 2 metres tall, then it would enjoy permitted development rights to re-build, extend etc.
However, because it is a retaining wall, the council might consider that the works would represent an engineering operation and as such they wouldn’t be permitted development and would require a planning application to be made.
It would probably have made sense to include any changes to the wall within the dwelling application, but if it is too late to do that, discussing the works with the application case officer should reveal whether the council thinks permission is needed or not.
Mike Dade, Build It expert.