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Should You Ask For Garden Planning Permission

Any time you want to avoid problems with your plans in the garden, you should assume you need to ask for garden planning permission. Most building codes allow for certain activities, but if you are not sure it is better to ask now than to suffer the consequences later. If adding a permanent structure, a permit may be needed.

While many people might quickly thing of asking for permission when building a garden shed, there are other areas where you might not be as quick in thinking of asking for permission. For example, you should check with local officials when planning to pave a driveway or when building a garden wall.

Many communities are starting to limit the amount of surface that can be covered in hard surface without making provision for runoff water. This is due to flash flooding that is sometimes occurring in communities where a majority of the area is covered in buildings and paving. As a result of covering areas that were formerly able to soak in the rain, water is forced to run off into ditches, streams and rivers and leads to flooding.

The problem often seen with garden walls is a height restriction. If your wall is over five feet tall it may block sunlight and views from your neighbor's windows. Many building codes limit the height of walls to protect your neighbor's rights as well as your own.

Then, of course you will want to check with the officials if you are planning a garden shed. Many local codes allow for building a shed without asking for special permission, however, you need to check to be sure that your plans are acceptable according to local codes.

If you decide that you will move ahead with your plans without checking with local officials, you may receive a notice a few months or years later that require you to remove the offending structures. In addition, in some communities you can face fines.

Article Source: GardenGap.com

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Want to know if you must have garden planning permission? Or if you can do without it? At the Clearance Paving website, you can learn more about garden planning permission