Do I Need Planning Permission.co.uk
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Help!

We bought a house about 2 years ago. It's on quite a substantial hill where the front of the house is higher than the back.
The back garden then drops down to a public park area, which again is substantially lower.

Our kitchen/dining area has 2 sets of sliding doors. The first set, opened up to walkway to the garage, which is slightly higher. The walkway was about a metre in width with narrow steep steps down to the garden (about or metre lower or there abouts).

The 2nd set of doors opened to a sheer drop.

To remedy this, we extended the metre walkway, along the length of the garden to the neighbours fence. We then decided to put the steps in coming the other direction, this creating a bigger area from the 2nd set of doors. We did a patio at the garden level, and tiled everything to match.

This has been like this for a year.

Our neighbour has now complained (her tenants have left) that we should have had planning permission for this, as it's over 30cm High. She considers it an infringement on her privacy as it overlooks her garden and you can see into their lounge.

She has demanded we demolish it, (we painstakingly built it ourselves) and reduce the hight, and not use the area in the interim.

I'm quite shocked... we didn't think we needed permission as we were just improving access by adding to a structure that was already in place.

We're thinking of putting a fence to address the privacy issue on top, but I'm worried that will also be over 2 meters and she'll complain about that also. (Considering she has the same walkway height and a seating area with a fence on top on her other side of that garden- but that's the detached side of the house.)

I didn't think this was a raised patio as our house level is higher.... if this was a flat surface not a hill, the doors would simply open to the ground at that height. These steps were built below the damp proof course.

Any advice on what to do? I really don't want to have to demolish it. Were trying to do as much ourselves as possible due to cost and the paving slabs we're really expensive.

:(
K

In order to be exempt from Planning, i.e. PD, the raised decking/patio cannot exceed 300mm. For sloping sites, the height is measured from the ground level to the structure. The same method of measurement would also apply to a fence, which is limited to 2m high.

How does this work of the house is 1m higher than the ground, and there is pre-existing walkway/patio area? Is that not the "ground adjacent to the house?" Otherwise we'd be jumping down and breaking our necks to exit the house.... would adding to this not constitute as permitted development, particularly if we are adding in better steps for ease of access?

Irrespective if it’s an extension or continuation of an existing raised patio/decked area, anything more than 300mm requires Planning.

Is there any reason why you’re trying to avoid submitting a Planning application? Yes, the Council will review the impacts on overlooking, loss of privacy, etc… But if the new and extended areas are not significantly different than the current situation, it’ll more than likely be approved.

Your other option is to take the risk, leave it and see if your neighbour reports you/the works to Planning which could warrant a visit from a Planning or Enforcement Officer.

the patio next door is nearly 2ft high at the fence line on my property. Thus afecting my privacy as i would need a 8ft fence to restore my privacy.It has just rained and water has poured on to my property/ I have been told that my property is on a slope and the height is measured from the high point on the slope. I now have a 2ft gap under the fence panel and water pouring from it.

That is not a Planning issue.

Hi there,

That sounds incredibly frustrating — especially after you’ve put in so much effort and money to make the area safer and more functional.

From your description, it doesn’t seem like a traditional “raised platform,” but in the UK, any structure over 30cm above ground level can be considered raised — even if your house sits on a slope and it matches the internal floor level. Since the new area overlooks your neighbor’s garden and lounge, privacy impact is likely the reason for her complaint.

Here are a couple of steps you might consider:

Speak informally with your local planning authority. They often offer basic advice without starting a formal investigation.

Look into applying for retrospective planning permission — this is fairly common, especially when changes were made in good faith.

Adding a privacy screen or fence could help, but you're right to be cautious. If the fence pushes the total height over 2 meters from ground level, it could require permission as well. It might help your case that your neighbor has a similar setup on the other side of her garden — consistency in surrounding features is something councils do consider.

Also, since the layout and elevation are a bit unusual, you might benefit from a general home inspection — especially to confirm drainage, structural safety, or damp-proof course placement. This guide explains how long an inspection usually takes and what it covers:
https://redfinz.com/how-long-does-a-home-inspection-take/

Hope you get it resolved without too much hassle. It’s clear you’ve done your best under tricky circumstances.