Do Driveway Gates Need Planning Permission?
If in doubt, you should contact your local authority to clarify whether you need planning permission. Here are some general rules concerning gate installation.
If the gate you're going to install is taller than 1m and "adjacent" to a footpath or road, you'll need planning permission. However, there's some vagueness when it comes to the term "adjacent". For instance, some local authorities appear to suggest that one doesn’t need permission if there is a distance of more than 1m between the road/footpath and the gate.
Each gate seems to be judged depending on the site's particular circumstances. This issue has resulted in many appeals, many of which cite the lack of clear definition regarding "adjacent". None of which, unfortunately, can come to a unanimous conclusion as the specific distance from the road that can be considered Permitted Development.
If the property is listed or subject to an Article 4 direction, the owner will need to get special consent. If the gate is more than 2m tall, you’ll need to get permission regardless of where it is.
What Are The Reasons For Seeking Planning Permission?
You’re required to apply for the planning permission if you want to install or add a fence, gate or wall and:
- Its height will be over 1m high and next to a highway used by cars (or the highway's footpath), or over 2m high elsewhere; or
- Your right to repair or install walls, fences and gates is removed by a planning condition or an article 4 direction; or
- Your house happens to be a listed building or in a listed building’s curtilage.
- The gate, wall or fence or any boundary involved forms a boundary with a neighbouring building that’s listed or is in the curtilage.
You are not required to get planning permission to take down a wall, fence, gate or to alter, improve or maintain an existing wall, fence, or gate (regardless of the height) if you are not going to increase the height. However, if you're in a conservation area, you may need to get planning permission to take down a wall, fence or gate.
When it comes to hedges, you don’t need planning permission as such. On the other hand, if a covenant or planning condition restricts planting, for instance, in "open plan" estates, or where the sight line of drivers could be interfered with, you may need to get planning permission and other necessary consent.