Do I need planning permission?

You may need planning permissions to create a driveway or form a hard surface in your garden. Different rules apply depending on the works you want to carry out and depending on whether you live in a house or flat.

Forming a driveway or hard surface if you live in a flat

If you want to create a driveway into your garden from the road, or form a hard surface (or replace a hard surface) in your front garden and you live in a flat, a tenement or a four-in-a-block, then you will need to apply for planning permission for any of these works.

Forming a driveway onto the road if you live in a house

If you live in a house and you want to create a new access onto the adjacent road, then you will need to apply for planning permission if the following applies:

• The access will be formed onto a classified road (A, B or C class road) or a trunk road

Forming or replacing a hard surface in your garden if you live in a house

You will only need planning permission to create or replace a hard surface in the garden of your house if any of the following apply:

• your house is within a conservation area (please see our conservation areas page)
• the hard surface is in the curtilage of a listed building (information on listed buildings is available on the Historic Environment Scotland website
• the area where the hard surface is to be created or replaced is between the house and a road and you intend not to use materials that are permeable or if you do not make provision for surface water run off to be directed to a porous area within the curtilage of your house. This requirement was introduced by the government following a review of extreme floods. It is needed to make sure that road drains that ultimately flow into streams and rivers do not have large amounts of water flowing into them off any new hard surfaces that people create in their front gardens. For more information please download our Guidance on permeable materials document.

Please note that if you are forming a new access onto any road and you require to lower the kerb, then you will need to complete a Roads and Transportation Service road opening permit form

Still not sure...

If you think you will need to apply for planning permission for any of the above please contact the Planning and Building Standards office
 
See also: Definitions - curtilage, principal elevation and road