Built a Shed on Sloped Ground – Concerned About Height Regulations, Need Advice

[misterm]

Hello,

I would appreciate some help and ideas.

About six months ago, my wife and I built a shed. At the time, I read all the regulations carefully — less than 50% of the garden, less than 2.5m in height, less than 15m², etc. — and I thought everything was in order until now. Today, I was visited by the Council because an anonymous neighbor complained about my shed. The officer initially asked if it was being used as a residence, and I explained that it’s just a workshop and office. He was polite, and I invited him to come in and have a look, but he declined, saying it wasn’t necessary. He took my email and mentioned he would check the documentation (I assume the covenants) and contact me by email.

After he left, I started feeling concerned and decided to re-read everything to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. That’s when I realized I misunderstood an important point regarding the maximum height. My land had a slope, so I had to level it before placing the shed. I lowered the higher side by about 20cm and raised the lower side by around 40cm. As a result, based on my new understanding, the shed height is incorrect because the 2.5m should have been measured from the original lowest ground point, not from the final leveled surface.

Now, I’m mentally preparing for what might happen. I realized I could possibly reduce the height by about 26cm by removing two final wooden layers below the roof (a big job, as I probably have 200-300 nails just in the roof). Besides that, I’m not sure what else I can do. Maybe I could apply for retrospective planning permission? Has anyone been through something similar and could share some advice or possible solutions?

I only have one direct neighbor, so I suspect they may be the one who complained, although I’m unsure why, as the sunlight comes from the other direction, so I don’t understand what their concern could be. The shed is new, and it’s about 70% painted — I haven’t finished the rest yet due to the winter cold and rain. I like to do things properly, but this time I think I misunderstood part of the regulations, possibly because English isn’t my first language. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much in advance.

 

[blup]

Wait to see what happens and be prepared to argue that 200mm isn't material and that there is no adverse impact on your neighbour. The Council has discretion not to enforce a breach of planning control. The Council wont be interested in private land covenants even though complainants often think they're relevant

 

[Koolpc]

How high is the shed? How far above the fence does it go?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

You measure the height from the highest natural ground level.

The 'height' is defined on page 6 of the Technical Guidance: https://assets.publishing.service.g...cdb2c9e9/190910_Tech_Guide_for_publishing.pdf

Wait and see what they say before you do anything else ....

 

[Notch7]

My land had a slope, so I had to level it before placing the shed. I lowered the higher side by about 20cm and raised the lower side by around 40cm.

You need to go to the side of the shed thats adjacent to side where the highest ground level is, then measure from the original ground level to the top of the shed, that needs to be under 2.5M


here is a drawing showing it:

the red line indicates the adjacent ground level -its the position of the highest original ground level -you might have to take a long bit of timber to line it up on the building from the nearest part of the garden with the original ground level