Before committing to a design for a Porthmadog granny annexe, it’s worth knowing whether the Caravan Act, permitted development, or a full application actually applies to your specific plans. We check this from the outset.
Get Your Free Route CheckPorthmadog 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 Porthmadog, 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 Porthmadog property and plans against all three routes honestly, rather than assuming the most complex one applies by default. A Porthmadog annexe needing full planning permission usually needs both, our Building Regulations drawings in Porthmadog service covers the technical compliance side, and our structural calculations in Porthmadog 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 Porthmadog 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 Porthmadog 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 Porthmadog annexe projects, whichever route applies.
Every Porthmadog 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 Porthmadog structure against the Caravan Act’s actual legal definition, rather than assuming it qualifies.
Where a Porthmadog 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 Porthmadog, 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 Porthmadog plans genuinely meet this.
It depends on genuine use, an incidental Porthmadog 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 Porthmadog, if the annexe could function as a separate home on its own, full planning permission is almost always the realistic route.
Strongly recommended for Porthmadog 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 Porthmadog annexe project, from establishing the correct route through to building regulations sign-off, so nothing falls through the gap.