Guide

Do I Need Planning Permission for an Extension in Berkshire?

Permitted Development: The Short Version

Permitted development rights let you build certain extensions without a full planning application, provided you stay within set limits on height, depth and proximity to boundaries. For a typical semi-detached or detached house, a single storey rear extension can usually extend up to 6 metres (detached) or 4 metres (semi/terraced) under current rules, within height limits of around 4 metres at the ridge, reducing to lower eaves heights near a boundary.

These rights are automatically restricted or removed entirely in some circumstances — most commonly where a previous planning condition removed them, where the property is listed, or where the house sits within certain designated areas.

When You Need Full Planning Permission

• ✓The property is in a conservation area — common in parts of Windsor, Eton, Reading town centre and several Berkshire village cores
• ✓The house is a listed building, or within its curtilage
• ✓A previous planning condition on the property removed permitted development rights (this happens more often than homeowners expect on newer estates)
• ✓The extension exceeds permitted development size/height limits
• ✓You want a double storey side extension — these typically require full planning regardless of other factors
• ✓The property has already had permitted development extensions that used up the available allowance

Berkshire's Six Planning Authorities

Berkshire is covered by six separate unitary planning authorities, each with its own local validation requirements and, in places, its own Article 4 Directions removing permitted development rights from specific streets or conservation areas: Bracknell Forest Council, Wokingham Borough Council, Reading Borough Council, West Berkshire Council, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, and Slough Borough Council. Border towns like Virginia Water, Camberley, Gerrards Cross and Stoke Poges fall under Surrey or Buckinghamshire authorities instead.

How We Handle This

We check your specific permitted development position free of charge at the initial site visit, before any work is priced. Where full planning is needed, we manage the application and liaise directly with the relevant planning authority — this is included in how we scope and quote every project, not an extra line item that appears later.