Builders in Billingshurst

Billingshurst is about seven miles south-west of us, and it is a village of two halves as far as planning is concerned. There is a conservation area over the historic core, and a good deal of newer housing around it that is not covered at all.

Which one you are in changes the answer completely, and the boundary follows historic plot patterns rather than roads.

Inside the conservation area

Billingshurst Conservation Area is article 2(3) land, which removes:

• Side extensions entirely
• Two-storey rear extensions entirely
• Permitted development loft conversions — Class B is unavailable at any size, so every dormer needs planning permission
• Cladding in any material
• The larger home extension scheme, so rear extensions are capped at 4 metres detached and 3 metres otherwise

Windows and external doors also need permission, which is the one that catches people planning routine replacement. So do solar panels, satellite dishes, and changes to any fence, wall or gate facing a highway.

Trees are protected at a low threshold: anything with a trunk over 75mm in diameter measured 1.5 metres above the ground. Six weeks’ notice before any work, applications are free, and unauthorised work is a criminal offence.

Outside it

Full national permitted development rights, which on most houses means a rear extension of 4 metres detached or 3 metres otherwise without an application, a loft conversion under Class B, and the larger home extension scheme available by prior approval.

That is a materially different project — no application fee, no eight week determination, no design negotiation.

Check the boundary before anything else

This is the single most useful thing to do here, and it takes five minutes. Use the council’s mapping tool against your actual address, not your street name. Conservation area boundaries in villages like this frequently run down the back of gardens, so one side of a road is in and the other is out.

If it turns out you are inside, £105 buys written pre-application advice from Horsham District Council with a 28-day response, and it is worth it before you pay anyone to draw anything.

Either way

Building regulations apply regardless, through Sussex Building Control — the service run jointly by Horsham District Council and Crawley Borough Council. And if you are relying on permitted development, get a lawful development certificate, because it is the document that proves the work was lawful when you come to sell.