Garden rooms and outbuildings in Reigate and Banstead depend on the house. Typical homes here: Victorian and Edwardian terraces and villas in Reigate and Redhill town centres; 1930s semi-detached houses in Nork, Banstead, Earlswood and Merstham. Designations to check first: Green Belt; Surrey Hills National Landscape; Conservation areas. Applications are decided by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council and the Reigate and Banstead Core Strategy 2014 and Development Management Plan 2019.
The permitted development rules for garden rooms and outbuildings
An outbuilding is permitted development on a house if it is single storey, no higher than 2.5 m where it comes within 2 m of a boundary, otherwise no higher than 4 m with a dual-pitched roof or 3 m with any other roof, sits behind the front wall of the house, covers together with other outbuildings no more than half the land around the original house, and is used for purposes incidental to the house rather than as a bedroom or self-contained flat.
Anything used for sleeping or as a separate dwelling needs planning permission regardless of size. Flats have no permitted development rights for outbuildings, and listed buildings need listed building consent.
What changes in Reigate and Banstead
In a conservation area an outbuilding is still permitted development behind the house, but not to the side of it, and the same height limits apply.
The local constraints that most often decide the route in Reigate and Banstead are listed below, taken from our Reigate and Banstead area page. Each one is a reason to confirm the address on Reigate and Banstead's constraints map before relying on permitted development.
- Green Belt. Most of the borough outside Reigate, Redhill, Banstead and Horley is Green Belt, including land around Kingswood, Chipstead, Merstham, Salfords and the North Downs. Source
- Surrey Hills National Landscape. The North Downs above Reigate, including Reigate Hill, Colley Hill and the scarp towards Merstham, fall within the Surrey Hills National Landscape (formerly the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). Source
- Conservation areas. Reigate town centre, Banstead, Chipstead, Kingswood and Merstham are among the borough's conservation areas. Source
- River Mole and Redhill Brook flood risk. The River Mole and its tributaries run through Horley, Salfords and Sidlow, and the Redhill Brook drains Redhill and Earlswood towards the Mole. Source
- Listed buildings. Reigate town centre, Banstead, Chipstead, Merstham and the villages contain many listed houses, cottages and churches. Source
What Reigate and Banstead planning officers look for
In the Green Belt officers usually measure the extension against the original dwelling by floorspace or volume and treat outbuildings more strictly. Common refusal reasons are full-width box dormers, side extensions that create a terracing effect, and disproportionate additions in the Green Belt. The council offers a paid pre-application service. Decisions can run past the statutory 8 weeks; allow 8–12 weeks.
Fees and timelines
Reigate and Banstead decides a householder application or a Lawful Development Certificate within 8 weeks of validation. The council fee is £528 for a householder application and £264 for a Lawful Development Certificate (England, from 1 April 2025; verify before applying).
Our own fee is fixed once quoted. The quote tool gives an indicative figure in minutes and a written quote follows within 24 hours.
Primary sources
- The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2: the permitted development limits quoted above.
- Planning Portal: do you need permission: the national guidance and the application service every council accepts.
- Reigate and Banstead Borough Council: planning: the council's own constraints map, validation checklist and pre-application service.
