Amersham families building a granny annexe for an elderly relative need to understand that independence and self-containment, however well-intentioned, is exactly what shifts a project out of the simpler planning routes.
Get Your Free Route CheckAmersham families often assume a granny annexe is either always simple or always complicated, the reality depends entirely on how it’s built and used. The Caravan Sites Act 1968 defines a caravan as a structure capable of being moved by road, within strict size limits, and a genuinely mobile annexe meeting that definition can sometimes avoid planning permission altogether.
Permitted development under Class E covers incidental outbuildings in Amersham, subject to height and coverage limits, but not genuine self-contained living accommodation with its own bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen used independently.
We assess your specific Amersham property and plans against all three routes honestly, rather than assuming the most complex one applies by default. A Amersham annexe needing full planning permission usually needs both, our Building Regulations drawings in Amersham service covers the technical compliance side, and our structural calculations in Amersham service covers the engineering detail.
Caravan Act, permitted development, or full planning
Movable structures that may need no permission at all
Permitted development limits checked properly
Applications built to be approved
We begin every Amersham annexe project with an honest assessment of the actual plans, size, mobility, and intended use, before any design work begins.
Where the Caravan Act or permitted development genuinely applies to your Amersham project, we confirm that properly, usually via a Lawful Development Certificate, rather than defaulting to a full application that isn’t needed.
Where genuine self-containment means a full application is required, we build that around what Amersham’s council specifically expects to see.
Every Amersham annexe assessment starts with an honest read on which of the three routes genuinely applies, not an assumption that defaults to the more complex, more expensive option.
We check the real mobility and size of a proposed Amersham structure against the Caravan Act’s actual legal definition, rather than assuming it qualifies.
Where a Amersham annexe genuinely needs a full application, we say so directly and build it around what the council expects to see. If you need help with a granny annexe, give us a call on 0330 133 5316 or fill in the form below.
This genuinely depends on your specific plans for Amersham, we check whether the structure is mobile, incidental, or self-contained before advising either way.
The Caravan Sites Act 1968 sets the limits, 20 metres long, 6.8 metres wide, 3.05 metres internal height, and the structure must be moveable by road in one or two sections, we check whether your Amersham plans genuinely meet this.
It depends on genuine use, an incidental Amersham outbuilding can qualify under Class E, but introducing real sleeping accommodation used independently takes it outside permitted development regardless of size.
Genuine independence is the test in Amersham, if the annexe could function as a separate home on its own, full planning permission is almost always the realistic route.
Strongly recommended for Amersham annexes, an assumption that a structure qualifies isn’t the same as formal confirmation, and a Lawful Development Certificate closes that gap.
Yes, we coordinate every part of a Amersham annexe project, from establishing the correct route through to building regulations sign-off, so nothing falls through the gap.