A new supplementary planning document on residential alterations and extensions will come into force on January 25th 2025 following its approval by Muhammed Butt in his role as Lead Member as well as Brent Council leader.
The aim is to ease the housing pressures by enabling easier extensions to houses and it also contains recommendations on flooding and biodiversity:
The Residential Extensions and Alterations Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) is consistent with the priorities of the Borough Plan in a number of respects. In relation to the Prosperity and Stability in Brent priority it supports existing residents to meet their housing needs better by enabling them to extend their home more easily to meet their needs than in current guidance. This removes the need to purchase larger more costly homes and the associated moving costs. In relation to the Cleaner, Greener Future priority it seeks to ensure that existing green space, trees, plants and biodiversity is retained as much as possible in development and where possible additional provision is made. It is supportive of incorporation of renewable energy and low carbon space heating sources. It seeks to ensure development avoids areas of flood risk and addressed any additional surface water run-off created by retaining it on site.
In relation to the Best Start in Life priority, the ability of occupiers to more easily extend their homes should reduce the potential for over-crowding. It will allow for the opportunity for children to have separate bedrooms, with the associated benefits to sleep/ health and educational attainment. This also feeds into the Healthier Brent priority, as does the need to retain sufficient garden space/ green space which is known to be beneficial to physical and mental health as well as the measures to reduce the effects of climate change which will also be beneficial to health. Providing space may also allow carers to live in properties to support occupants with a chronic health issue or disability.
EXTRACTS
Biodiversity
Regardless of any exemptions, you are encouraged to increase the biodiversity of your property by planting trees and flowering plants, retaining areas of long grass, nettles or overgrowth, introducing water features (ponds, bird baths etc) and creating a compost heap. You are also encouraged to include other measures not necessarily addressed by Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), such as Swift bricks, bat and bird boxes and holes in fences for hedgehogs. These are particularly important where features that provide habitats are lost, such as old structures with holes and crevices. Useful information on how to approach this can be found on the Woodland Trust website, and elsewhere.
Flooding
Impermeable hard landscaping with poor drainage can help cause flooding within the borough.
You are encouraged to address surface water flooding issues through the provision of natural features, such as rain gardens or green roofs, and by not connecting the drainage of any new hard landscaping to the existing sewer network.
If your extension or outbuilding is proposed within an area of surface water flooding, as shown on the Brent Local Plan policies map, you will have to amend your planning application accordingly. You will need professional advice to provide information to support your application, generally in the form of a Flood Risk Assessment. Key factors to consider include the depth and speed of the surface water during flood periods, and the volume of water that could be displaced by your extension or outbuilding.
Dimensions of extensions
Depth
For attached homes, such as terraced or semi-detached homes, single storey rear extensions could be up to 6 metres in depth from the original rear wall of your home.
For detached homes, single storey rear extensions could be up to 8 metres in depth from the original rear wall of your home.
Notwithstanding the above, the depth of single storey rear extensions must not be more than half the length of your garden. The area (sqm) of your garden that is retained should meet the relevant amenity space standards, as set out in Brent Local Plan Policy BH13.
Height
Single storey rear extensions up to 3 metres in depth for an attached home, or up to 4 metres in depth for a detached home, could be up to 4 metres in height as long as they have an eaves height of no more than 3
metres.
A maximum height of up to 4 metres could be acceptable, for example, where the extension has either a mono-pitched or pitched roof.
Single storey rear extensions more than 3 metres in depth for an attached home, or more than 4 metres in depth for a detached home, could also be up to 4 metres in height as long as they have an eaves height of no more than 2.5 metres along the boundary to any neighbouring properties.
A height of up to 4 metres could be acceptable, for example, where the extension has a pitched roof
PLEASE DO NOT RELY ON THE EXTRACTS FOR GUIDANCE. THE FULL DOCUMENT IS HERE.
