Do You Need Planning Permission for an Extension in Devon?

Devon is a wonderful place to improve a home — and a genuinely complicated place to get permission for it. The county is covered by no fewer than nine planning authorities, including Exeter and Plymouth city councils, Torbay, seven district councils and the Dartmoor National Park Authority, each with its own local plan and its own interpretation of the rules.

The starting point is the same everywhere: many extensions fall within permitted development rights, meaning no full planning application is needed — typically modest rear extensions, and loft conversions within volume limits. But permitted development is reduced or removed entirely in conservation areas, National Landscapes (formerly AONBs) and the National Park, and Devon has all three in abundance. The East Devon and South Hams coastlines, the fringes of Dartmoor and Exmoor, and the historic cores of Exeter, Totnes, Tavistock, Barnstaple and dozens of villages all carry extra controls.

Listed buildings are a separate matter again: anything that affects the character of a listed building — including most extensions — needs listed building consent in addition to any planning permission, and unauthorised work to a listed building is a criminal offence, not just a planning breach.

Coastal and riverside plots add one more layer: flood risk. Low-lying sites around the Exe, the Teign, the Tamar and the Levels may need a flood risk assessment, and finished floor levels and materials have to respond accordingly.

The sensible sequence is always the same: establish exactly which authority covers your address, check the designations that apply to your plot, and only then commission design work. We do this as part of every feasibility stage — see how we work across the county on our builders in Devon page, with dedicated local pages for Exeter, Plymouth, Torbay and the market towns.

Whatever your project involves, Building Regulations approval is required for almost all structural work regardless of planning — it is the part that proves the extension is built safely, and it is something we manage for every client as standard.