A genuinely self-contained Woburn Sands granny annexe, complete with its own kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom used independently of the main house, sits outside permitted development almost universally and usually needs a full planning application.
Get Your Free Route CheckWoburn Sands 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 Woburn Sands, 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 Woburn Sands property and plans against all three routes honestly, rather than assuming the most complex one applies by default.
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 start every Woburn Sands annexe project by establishing the real starting point, a mobile structure within Caravan Act limits, an incidental outbuilding, or genuine independent living space, since that single distinction shapes everything that follows.
Your Woburn Sands application or certificate, whichever applies, is built around what your local council specifically expects to see, not a generic template.
Structural and building regulations work for Woburn Sands annexe projects is handled properly from the outset, informed by real experience with this kind of project.
Every Woburn Sands 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 Woburn Sands structure against the Caravan Act’s actual legal definition, rather than assuming it qualifies.
Where a Woburn Sands 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 Woburn Sands.
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, Woburn Sands annexes meeting this can often avoid planning permission if they stay ancillary to the house.
Only if it stays genuinely incidental to the house, Woburn Sands 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 Woburn Sands 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 Woburn Sands 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 Woburn Sands annexe projects, the planning route, whichever applies, and building regulations compliance, as one coordinated service.