A granny annexe in Barmouth can go up three genuinely different ways, as a mobile home under the Caravan Sites Act 1968, as an incidental outbuilding under permitted development, or through a full planning application, and which one actually applies depends on your specific plans. We check this properly before you commit to anything.
Get Your Free Route CheckBarmouth 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 Barmouth, 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 Barmouth property and plans against all three routes honestly, rather than assuming the most complex one applies by default. A Barmouth annexe needing full planning permission usually needs both, our Building Regulations drawings in Barmouth service covers the technical compliance side, and our structural calculations in Barmouth 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
Every Barmouth annexe enquiry starts with establishing the real facts, is the structure genuinely mobile within Caravan Act limits, is it staying incidental to the house, or is it a self-contained dwelling, since that shapes the whole route.
From there, we prepare exactly what your Barmouth project needs, whether that’s a Lawful Development Certificate confirming caravan or permitted development status, or a full planning application.
Structural and building regulations input runs alongside the planning process for Barmouth annexe projects, whichever route applies.
Every Barmouth 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 Barmouth structure against the Caravan Act’s actual legal definition, rather than assuming it qualifies.
Where a Barmouth 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.
It depends on three things, whether the structure genuinely qualifies as a caravan under the Caravan Sites Act, whether it stays incidental to the house under permitted development, or whether it’s a self-contained dwelling, which almost always needs a full application in Barmouth.
Under the Caravan Sites Act 1968, a structure qualifies as a caravan if it’s capable of being moved by road in no more than two sections, and doesn’t exceed 20 metres in length, 6.8 metres in width, or 3.05 metres in internal height, Barmouth annexes meeting this can often avoid planning permission if they stay ancillary to the house.
Only if it stays genuinely incidental to the house, Barmouth outbuildings under Class E permitted development cannot be separate, self-contained living accommodation, the moment sleeping facilities are used independently, permitted development stops applying.
A Barmouth annexe with its own bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, used independently of the main house rather than as shared accommodation, is generally treated as self-contained, which usually means full planning permission is needed.
We recommend it, even where your Barmouth annexe genuinely qualifies as a caravan or permitted development, a Lawful Development Certificate gives you written confirmation rather than an assumption that could cause problems later, particularly when selling.
Yes, we handle the full picture for Barmouth annexe projects, the planning route, whichever applies, and building regulations compliance, as one coordinated service.