Guides · 4 min
Porches
A small porch is one of the simplest projects. A big one is not.
The small national porch
On a house, a porch outside an external door is often permitted development if the floor area outside the original walls is no more than 3 square metres, the height is no more than 3 metres, and no part is within 2 metres of a boundary with a road.
Go past those limits and you are into an application. In the Green Belt, a porch that makes an already extended house even bigger can still be refused.
The look
Match the materials if you can. A porch that juts out on a flat-fronted terrace is more noticeable than one on a detached house set back from the pavement.
Check with your council. Rules change, and every house is different.
Questions
Is 3 square metres the inside or the outside?
It is the ground area outside the original walls. A deep porch fails even if it is narrow.
Do flats get a porch right?
No. The householder porch rule is for houses, not flats.
Check with your council. Rules change, and every house is different.