It is to be much easier for householders to undertake renovations and extensions to their homes.

The Stormont Environment Minister Edwin has announced new arrangements that mean many people will no longer need to apply for planning permission to extend their homes.

These new planning rules - that come into operation on 6th April - will extend the scope of minor household development that can be carried out without submitting a planning application.

The DUP Minister said: "The measures will increase the range of householder development that no longer needs planning permission including small house extensions and conservatories, roof alterations, porches, sheds and green houses, oil and gas storage containers and chimneys, flues and decking.

"The new arrangements will also introduce new domestic permitted development rights for renewable energy technologies such as solar panels, heat pumps and biomass fuel storage containers.

"I want to make it easier for homeowners to undertake these types of minor development to their homes," he explained.

"Importantly the new rules strike a balance between freeing homeowners to make improvements and limiting the size of an extension so that neighbours are protected. It is important to point out that larger more intrusive extensions will still require full planning permission.

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"I will also publish a new guide on 6th April entitled 'Your Home and Planning Permission' which will provide householders with an easy to understand step by step guide to how the new arrangements will work in practice and help people to decide whether or not their proposed development needs planning permission," he concluded, noting that, in Northern Ireland, the Planning (General Development) Order (NI) (GDO) 1993 (S.R. 1993 No. 278 as amended) sets out what type of development can be undertaken without requiring a planning application.

He said these are referred to as permitted development rights and often relate to minor building work that is non-contentious and has minor impact to neighbours and on the environment.

The Planning (General Development) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2011 will amend the GDO by revising existing householder permitted development rights to expand the scope of those rights and introducing specific permitted development rights for the installation of domestic microgeneration equipment including solar panels, ground and water source heat pumps and biomass fuel storage.

In a statement, the Minister's officials said that, until now householders have only been able to get either a small rear dormer or rear extension, such as a conservatory, without requiring planning permission.

"Anyone who had previously extended their property, by as little as 10% in the case of a terrace house, required planning permission.

"The new rules will now allow both and be based on straightforward measurements for what is permissible for rear dormers and rear extensions.

"Rear extensions and roof conversions will no longer have volume caps but will be constrained by more easily understood size and proximity limitations.

"The new rules now also mean that specific permitted development rights are introduced to allow householders to install certain microgeneration equipment including solar panels," said the statement.

The extension of permitted development rights will reduce the number of planning applications that need to be submitted for minor householder extensions and alterations.

This will contribute to further streamlining the planning system and ensure that it concentrates resources on those applications that require detailed examination.

(BMcC/KMcA)