Can a house not have a principal elevation?

Joined
6 Sep 2008
Messages
2,334
Reaction score
259
Country
United Kingdom
Are there houses in this country where the entire house is behind another house and as such, doesn't have a principal elevation in planning terms? I always thought the PE was the one fronting the highway, but suppose a semi were rotated 90 degrees so one house fronts the highway across the full width of what is visible from the road, and the driveway went round to the back house.. does the back house have a PE or not?
 
Sponsored Links
Surely it would be the elevation with the front door in it? Usually this is the one which faces the road.
 
The principle elevation is not the one which faces the road, but the one which is most likely to be considered the "main" elevation - eg the front, or the one with the most detail

Every property has a principle elevation
 
There must be rare special cases:

Converted windmill?

House built round a courtyard, where the front door and elevation face inwards?

There is an interesting house quite near us facing the road, but sited at the back of a large garden with a lake in front. There is no front door - the entrace is through an enormously grand porch on one end of the house, which faces a private lane.


Does "in front of the principal elevation" mean a straight line through the front, or a line following the course of the road?
Our property is on an S-bend which divides the garden. Parts of the "back" garden are in front of the principal elevation, and most of the front garden is on the other side of the road. But the summer house on the other side of the road would actually be behind the principal elevation on the straight line definition.
 
Sponsored Links
A windmill won't have PD rights, so its irrelevant.

A house built around a courtyard would have a principle elevation

The elevation view would be a hypothetical plane from a viewpoint, not a flat piece of wall
 
The elevation view would be a hypothetical plane from a viewpoint, not a flat piece of wall


What does that mean?

Does a line level with the principal (sic) elevation mean a straight line or a line following a bend in the road and frontage?
 
Most houses would have a principal elevation, but this is not necessarily the one that fronts the highway, nor is it necessarily the one which has the front door in.

Sometimes, "principal" elevation can even be a "rear" elevation... even if the house fronts a highway and the entrance door opens to the front as well... for example, a beach-side property may be said to have its principal elevation facing the sea rather than the street...

Unfortunately though, there is no real way to define the principal elevation and so its mostly down to a matter of opinion. I've had a lengthy arguement with a planning officer who was adamant that the side of a building was the principal elevation because it had the front door in even though the side of the building looked like.. well... the side of a building, and a separate elevation had all the features and details associated with a "principal" elevation... such as bay windows and architectural detailing / features.
 
Unsure if this is a tangent from the original post.

However my question is can a person who lives in a rear back-to-back terraced property be allowed to have a shed when they only have the one way out but their property does not face out onto the main highway?

Several other people locally do have sheds. But these may pre-date the current planning rules.

If it helps I am under Kirklees (W Yorkshire) catchment for planning and building control if this helps in any replies.

Thank you in advance for any feedback.
 
Unsure if this is a tangent from the original post.

However my question is can a person who lives in a rear back-to-back terraced property be allowed to have a shed when they only have the one way out but their property does not face out onto the main highway?

Several other people locally do have sheds. But these may pre-date the current planning rules.

If it helps I am under Kirklees (W Yorkshire) catchment for planning and building control if this helps in any replies.

Thank you in advance for any feedback.

If you are in a back-to-back behind the one facing the main road, then you will still have a principal elevation, which is probably where your front door is. If the public has access to any part of that frontage, even if it is only a ginnel or footpath, that will be regarded as a highway.
 
Thanks for the first reply as acknowledged.

Since I'm new to this site am unsure if I am posting a new thread or continuing the previous.

Yes a ginnel/footpath and a communal parking area is outside of the properties garden area. This communal parking area used to be common hanging ground for drying clothes in bygone years.

So does this suggest that it is not permissible for a person in a back-to-back property to have a shed under the current rules irrespective of whether they have a front or rear property?

Thanks in advance for any further development on this question.
 
Odds are the planning dept will take a robust view of this and require a planning application for the development you describe.
If others have long-established sheds, you might be successful.
 
Look up similar applications on the Kirklees planning website and see what view they generally take. The planners report should tell you what they considered and what the local policy is.
 
Thank you for both people's replies.

I found this forum by chance but it seems very good advice can be found here.
 
ps; "New Topic" button starts a whole new thread of conversation
"Post Reply" adds more words to an existing thread of conversation
 

DIYnot Local

Staff member

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Sponsored Links
Back
Top