Planning permission for two-storey extensions in County Down

County Down at a glance

Nation: Northern Ireland
Price region: Northern Ireland
Postcode areas: BT
Towns covered: 15 listed below, plus surrounding villages
Site visits: Free, no obligation

What a planning application involves

This service suits you if you want your two-storey extension to go through planning with the best chance of approval. You get a check of your house's planning history, permitted development rights and local design guidance, a design shaped around them, the application prepared and submitted, and someone to deal with the planning officer's questions. We cannot promise an outcome, but we design to give the application a fair chance.

Towns in County Down include Bangor (County Down) (BT19), Newtownards (BT22), Newry (BT35), Banbridge (BT32), Dundonald (BT16) and Holywood (BT18). If yours isn't listed, we still cover it.

Fees

Planning drawings are a guide of £2,000–£3,500, priced in writing before the design stage starts. Planning application for works to a house: £347.

Rules in Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, a planning application for works to a house costs £347 per dwelling. Councils aim to decide local applications within an average of 15 weeks, and many take longer, so we build that into your programme. A two-storey rear extension that goes no more than 3 m beyond the original rear wall and stays 7 m from the rear boundary may be permitted development.

Approval in Northern Ireland: Planning application for works to a house: £347. Councils aim to decide local applications within an average of 15 weeks; many take longer.

Building control: Building control approval from the local council under the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland), using the Technical Booklets.

There is no Party Wall Act in Northern Ireland. Shared walls and boundaries are a matter of title and common law, so we agree access and record conditions with neighbours before work starts.

Getting the design right

Neighbours' light and privacy

The main concerns on a two-storey extension are usually loss of light, outlook and privacy for neighbours. We test the design against nearby windows and gardens, and adjust depth, roof shape or window positions before submitting.

Check the history first

Planning conditions from when the house was built, earlier extensions and Article 4 directions can all remove permitted development rights. We check the council's records and your house's history before design starts, so the route is clear.

How we work in County Down

Visit and first ideas
One of our team visits your house in County Down, checks the walls, roof and drains, and sketches out options with you.
Plans, then approval
Measured survey, design, then the right approval route for your house. We explain each step before we take it.
Technical design
We prepare the building regulations drawings, structural calculations and specification so the build price can be fixed.
Finish and certify
Second fix, plastering and making good, then building control's final inspection and the completion paperwork.

Towns we cover in County Down