Where planning permission allows you to carry out the development, building regulations approval is there to safeguard that the works are carried out in a structurally safe manner in accordance with building regulations currently in force.
Generally for garden structures or log cabins less than 30 sqm. floor area the building regulations do not apply.
However, any building that has external walls made of combustible material and exceeds 15 sqm internal floor area must be sited with a minimum distance of 1000 mm from any third-party boundary. This is to limit the risk of the spread of fire.
If the structure or cabin is in excess of 30 sqm internal floor area, then building regulations approval should officially be sought.
The log cabin cannot extend beyond the part of the original house nearest to the highway – meaning you can’t put a log cabin in your front garden or beyond the front wall of your house without planning permission!
It must have a height of less than 4 meters in the case of a building with a dual-pitched roof or 5 meters if it is within 2 meters of a boundary. The eaves cannot exceed height of 5m.
The log cabin cannot be used as a separate living accommodation or independent separate dwelling
Planning authorities make their decision based on each individual case of circumstances, so don’t write off your chances if you were hoping for a 4m tall log cabin close to a border.
