Northampton Council (now West Northamptonshire Council) has planning guidance that says it will not grant planning permission for a two-storey rear extension where it means that the distance between the extension and the back of any house to the rear falls below 21 metres.
The guidance is set out in the council’s Residential Extensions & Alterations Design Guide SPD. However, this document says that its guidance should be applied flexibly and the standard may be relaxed in built-up urban areas.
Unfortunately, Northampton case officers seem to be applying this guidance very rigidly indeed.
We have been involved in a few appeals recently where the separation distance has been the main issue and we have been able to persuade appeal inspectors to grant permission for extensions where the 21 metre distance is not quite been met.
If you been refused planning permission for a two-storey rear extension in Northampton for this reason, get in touch with our team for some advice.
