GLAZED GABLE, NEAR HASLEMERE
A three-bedroom chalet bungalow in Hammer Vale, near Haslemere, has been replaced with a four-bedroom, oak-framed home with more than twice the floor space. East Hampshire District Council granted planning permission in December 2024, under delegated powers, and the officer found the scheme acceptable as submitted.
The planning problem
The site is in open countryside, outside any settlement boundary, on the Waverley border opposite Bramshott Common. In East Hampshire, saved Policy H16 limits a replacement home in the countryside to no more than 50% larger than the original house. On its own, that would have allowed only a modest increase over the existing bungalow.
Using permitted development first
Before applying for the new house, we used the property's permitted development rights to set a lawful fallback position:
A Lawful Development Certificate for a side extension and porch, granted in August 2024.
A prior approval for an 8 metre single-storey rear extension. The first version was refused because its eaves were higher than the existing house. We revised it, and prior approval was given in October 2024.
Together these added 98.5 square metres that could be built without planning permission. That fallback, not the original bungalow, became the realistic starting point for judging the size of a replacement home.
The application
The full application for a replacement house was registered in October 2024. The new home is about 38% larger than the permitted development fallback, set out over two floors, and re-oriented towards the south-facing garden. The design uses brick below and timber boarding above, a slate grey roof with in-roof solar panels, three glazed gables to the rear and an oak-framed, double-height entrance.
The council granted permission in December 2024. Conditions covered a tree method statement, bat roosting features and a sparrow terrace, external lighting on short timers to protect bats, 10% of energy from renewable sources and blackout blinds to the rooflights, in line with the dark skies policy in the Bramshott and Liphook Neighbourhood Plan. The owners also qualified for self-build relief from the Community Infrastructure Levy.
What this means for your project
If you want to replace a house in the countryside with something much larger, the size limit is rarely the end of the conversation. A fallback built from permitted development rights can change the baseline the council works from, but each step has to be lawful in its own right, and the order matters.
See the finished house on the Glazed Gable project page at Alchemy House of Design, who designed it.
Thinking about a replacement home? Book a planning surgery for £95 plus VAT, or call us on 01428 892198.
