Saeed Azarshab

Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015

Order · England-focused reference · Editorial source review:

The England GPDO grants planning permission for specified classes of development, subject to detailed limits and conditions. Some classes require prior approval. A proposal is not permitted simply because it resembles a neighbour's extension; site restrictions, previous works and the precise class must be checked.

Independent explanation, not an official approval or project-specific legal/design advice.

When to use this guide

  • Checking whether an extension, alteration, change of use or other work needs a full application.
  • Assessing a prior-approval route or an Article 4 restriction.
  • Seeking certainty about a proposed development's lawfulness.

What to check

Use these prompts with the responsible project team. Ticking a box does not certify compliance.

You can tick these prompts while reviewing the project.

Download checklist (TXT)

Keep these records

  • Class-by-class assessment with measured drawings and site photographs.
  • Planning history and checks for directions, conditions and designations.
  • Prior-approval or lawful-development decisions and their approved scope.

Common mistakes

  • Using a simplified online size rule without checking the remaining conditions of the class.
  • Assuming permitted development removes Building Regulations, listed-building or Party Wall obligations.

When to get specialist help

Ask the local planning authority or a competent planner about ambiguous classes, prior-approval requirements or removed rights; do not treat informal website guidance as a certificate.

Scope and edition

Sources reviewed 17 October 2026. England-only Order, frequently amended. The householder guide is dated 2019 and is not authority for later changes or non-householder classes; verify current class wording and commencement.

Use the official source to check the current text, amendments not yet incorporated, commencement and project-specific transition. A published future edition is not automatically the rule applying to your work.

Official sources

Source links lead to external official websites. We provide original explanatory notes and do not reproduce paid standards.

About this library

Independent, plain-English reference notes by Saeed Azarshab. The library covers the 42 subjects listed here; it is not every law affecting construction, an official government publication or a project-specific compliance decision. Building Regulations, Approved Documents, workplace safety duties and planning permissions have different roles.

Editorial source review: . Check the current official text, commencement dates, outstanding amendments and transitional arrangements before relying on a requirement. Publication date is not necessarily the date a rule applies. A relevant competent professional or authority must resolve project-specific questions.

Sources and lawful reuse

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated. These are original practical summaries, with links to the official material. No government endorsement is implied. We do not host copies of proprietary BS, ISO or Eurocode standards, third-party diagrams or publisher layouts. Check each source’s rights notice before reuse.

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