Building a treehouse - planning permission!

dl8860

dl8860

dl8860

Soldato
Joined
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Worcestershire
Couldn't see any relevant thread so far on treehouses.

Our house which we moved into 6 months ago had an old treehouse, but it was well past its safe working life, so we pulled it down.

As we've got 2 young boys, the plan was always to replace it. So far we have 3 big posts in the ground (about 11ft tall), with a bough of the tree acting as the 4th 'post'. The floor frame went on today, which is about 6 ft off the ground.

While I was up there screwing in the plyboard floor, cue neighbour at the garden fence bleating about planning permission, and how she doesn't want to be able to see it from her garden.

Our garden is a decent size, and the treehouse will be slap bang in the middle, so no closer than 12 metres to any boundary fence.

We have been on what I thought were very good terms with her to date, we know she fell out with the previous owner of our house, but we also know he fell out with a lot of people.

Anyway, upon a bit of googling (which admittedly I should have done before even planning to replace the one that was there), it turns out you do indeed need full blown planning permission, for any structure that is a 'raised platform', even 1ft off the ground.

Wondering if anyone else has gone through this process. I do understand the need to protect privacy, but that also needs to be balanced against being able to enjoy your own garden, and it's only a kids treehouse, not like it's some raised party deck or something like that. Hopefully it's a case of proving to the planning office that any privacy invasions are minor, and that the structure isn't overly imposing? It's less than 2m x 2m, the floor is 1.8m off the ground and the roof will be another metre above that.
 
Dig a hole in your garden next to the proposed tree house site.

Invite the neighbour to inspect the site/plan that you are going to submit, say you'd like to hear her thoughts/0suggestions before submitting.

Oppps she fell in the hole.


Oooops a load of concrete you just happened to have mixed ready to go fell on top of her.

Happens ........
 
Sounds like a lot of hassle, you could build a cabin for them instead. Convert it to a bar with a pool table when they are older :p
 
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Could you say that you've just beefed it up and it's been there since the prior owner for x number of years and can be seen in for sale photos etc?
 
MissChief said:
If there was already a treehouse in place then maybe planning permission was given many years ago and may still apply?
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Would be nice but there's no trace in the planning system, and previous owner 100% not the sort of guy to get planning for a treehouse. And I think prior to 2009 you didn't need planning anyway.
SoliD said:
Could you say that you've just beefed it up and it's been there since the prior owner for x number of years and can be seen in for sale photos etc?
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Decent thought, but she knows we pulled the whole previous one down.

I don't mind playing by the rules if there's certain regulations RE size, position etc, but I really don't like the idea of having to pay £100+ and having pencil pushers go over my application and query my design etc. Most places you read say they encourage professionally drawn up applications, there goes another £300 probably. It's ridiculous.

I'll be submitting some 2d computer sketches, but I do worry it could be piddling away the application fee.
 
dl8860 said:
Would be nice but there's no trace in the planning system, and previous owner 100% not the sort of guy to get planning for a treehouse. And I think prior to 2009 you didn't need planning anyway.


Decent thought, but she knows we pulled the whole previous one down.

I don't mind playing by the rules if there's certain regulations RE size, position etc, but I really don't like the idea of having to pay £100+ and having pencil pushers go over my application and query my design etc. Most places you read say they encourage professionally drawn up applications, there goes another £300 probably. It's ridiculous.

I'll be submitting some 2d computer sketches, but I do worry it could be piddling away the application fee.
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You don’t need professionally drawn pictures if you can’t use a ruler and pencil, what I would do initially is ring the council planning department and see if they will talk through what you want to do. I suspect you will struggle to get planning as your kids will inevitably be able to see into other peoples gardens and houses.
 
dl8860 said:
Couldn't see any relevant thread so far on treehouses.

Our house which we moved into 6 months ago had an old treehouse, but it was well past its safe working life, so we pulled it down.

As we've got 2 young boys, the plan was always to replace it. So far we have 3 big posts in the ground (about 11ft tall), with a bough of the tree acting as the 4th 'post'. The floor frame went on today, which is about 6 ft off the ground.

While I was up there screwing in the plyboard floor, cue neighbour at the garden fence bleating about planning permission, and how she doesn't want to be able to see it from her garden.

Our garden is a decent size, and the treehouse will be slap bang in the middle, so no closer than 12 metres to any boundary fence.

We have been on what I thought were very good terms with her to date, we know she fell out with the previous owner of our house, but we also know he fell out with a lot of people.

Anyway, upon a bit of googling (which admittedly I should have done before even planning to replace the one that was there), it turns out you do indeed need full blown planning permission, for any structure that is a 'raised platform', even 1ft off the ground.

Wondering if anyone else has gone through this process. I do understand the need to protect privacy, but that also needs to be balanced against being able to enjoy your own garden, and it's only a kids treehouse, not like it's some raised party deck or something like that. Hopefully it's a case of proving to the planning office that any privacy invasions are minor, and that the structure isn't overly imposing? It's less than 2m x 2m, the floor is 1.8m off the ground and the roof will be another metre above that.
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Stick a massive trampoline right next to the boundary, make sure your kids smile and wave to her each time they appear above the fence line :D
 
Foghorn Leghorn said:
Stick a massive trampoline right next to the boundary, make sure your kids smile and wave to her each time they appear above the fence line :D
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This!

Nextdoor have done this to me, its right at the bottom of their garden but right next to my kitchen window, so they send the kids out for hours and I get to listen to it. If I had my way all of them would be banned, scourge of urban living these things.
 
The neighbour came round today with a bunch of flowers from her garden to apologise for being rude about it, which was nice of her to do. I think it is difficult to approach someone to say something in that way, so I think she just got it slightly wrong. She's said she won't think of reporting it, and maybe did overestimate the amount she'll be able to notice it. We do have another 4 neighbours on our boundary to contend with. 1 we are on good terms with, the other 3 are cordial but only ever had a quick chat over the fence.

Don't know if it's worth doing the planning application or not now. In a way it'd be nice to have it all above board, but like I said the fuss and money of it does grate with me. It's not visible from the road or anywhere else like that. Though we may have the conservation officer round before too long to assess some work we'll be doing on the house (grade II listed), so actually might be a big faux pas to have that liability stood in the garden when they come round.
 
dl8860 said:
I do understand the need to protect privacy, but that also needs to be balanced against being able to enjoy your own garden, and it's only a kids treehouse, not like it's some raised party deck or something like that. Hopefully it's a case of proving to the planning office that any privacy invasions are minor, and that the structure isn't overly imposing? It's less than 2m x 2m, the floor is 1.8m off the ground and the roof will be another metre above that.
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How tall are the fences? I guess we should assume roughly speaking that height would be roughly 3.5m off the ground when stood in the treehouse (assuming there is a section that allows you to stand at full height, otherwise I guess it is only 2.8m). And we know it is 12m to the boundary. If we know the fence height then we can consider what sort of angle this would give into neighbouring properties i.e. how much of their property is visible. Plus of course the reverse if it's more she doesn't want to have to look at it.

Sounds like they are being quite reasonable, perhaps you could offer to talk through any concerns she may have to put her mind at rest.
 
So you could have it 2.5m above the ground max height without any permission? Couldn't you put some sort of temp/plastic/fabric roof up instead of a proper timber one deeming it temporary structure?
 
I'd be very careful with the neighbour - if they've flown off the handle once wouldn't be surprised if they decide at some point in the future that you've wronged them and bingo, you've got planning officers round... has happened round here a few times (thus i stay out of a lot of the village rubbish)
 
Unfortunately the rules state that anything more than a foot off the ground is a 'raised structure', and hence full planning permission applies. There's no distance from a boundary or maximum height under which you're exempt. So in theory even if you built one in the middle of your 100 acre estate you need planning permission. And treehouses aren't recognised as permanent structures.

It's the sort of thing where if the planning procedure consisted of someone with a brain coming round to look at it and talk through your plans then it would be fine. I just dread getting embroiled with the planning office, hence hoping for someone to drop in to the thread and tell me it won't be so bad based on their experience. But I'd be surprised if even 10% of treehouses made actually go through planning.
 
Sorry if my post was unclear, build it at ground level upto the permitted height. Dont raise it off the ground.

Also I think the trapdoor would probably be an issue. A ladder on the side would be fine ;) Tut tut bloody kids I keep telling them not to play on the roof ;)
You can have a flat roofed shed up to 3m high.
 
I wouldn't bother. It's too much hassle. What happens if you get planning? You build it, the kids play in it (sometimes) and she ends up being a nightmare neighbor from hell.

Build a play house or something or just don't bother with anything, save your money and they can play in the house and garden.
 
I would build it and then let the council fight me if they wanted...
we are building our kids a tree house soon and i would rather just build it then go through all the red tape you need for planning..
I do planning drawings and applications and we are just about to start our 4th new build but the bureaucracy is dreadful and full of people who haven't a clue what they are talking about,
especially the parish council...

If nobody ever pushes back then nothing ever changes...
 
lucias666 said:
If nobody ever pushes back then nothing ever changes...
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Nobody should ever, for one moment, underestimate how important it is to try to be a good neighbour. Good neighbours make good communities, and good communities look after each other in ways which are undervalued in modern, stressed and selfish, society.

We're either part of the solution, or part of the problem. No kid ever suffered for lack of a tree house. Many gained from not falling out of a tree.
 
Andrew_McP said:
Nobody should ever, for one moment, underestimate how important it is to try to be a good neighbour. Good neighbours make good communities, and good communities look after each other in ways which are undervalued in modern, stressed and selfish, society.

We're either part of the solution, or part of the problem. No kid ever suffered for lack of a tree house. Many gained from not falling out of a tree.
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Oh come on, tree houses have been around for years and yeah occasionally a kid might fall out and hurt themselves a bit but its all the memories of playing in them which is remembered ,not that you might hurt yourselves..

i take it you never had one as a kid? That's a shame because you wont realize how special they can be..

And its nice to get on with your neighbors but are you going to let them tell you that your kids cant have fun? What if they dont like your kids laughing to loud? You going to not let them play outside?

My kids come first not my neighbors I am afraid.... And it sounds like there neighbor kicked off without being respectful and talking to them about it.... Screw them...
 
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