Decking Planning permission

[H2Gizmo]

Hi.
I live on a mobile Home park,all year round living, retirement place etc etc. We had a small brick patio where our table and chairs did not fit so we extended the patio out, using composite decking boards, laying the boards directly on top of the original patio and in the end doubling the size of the patio/decking area. The new decking meets the boundary line to our neighbour and we have erected fence trellis to maintain privacy for both parties. Our neighbour is higher than us so there is no overlooking issue. The sun still comes around into both of our gardens and her only view is the rear of our own property. Anyway.. So the decking planks are laid on top of the old patio and beyond this the boards are supported by timber posts and joists etc. The ground around slopes away from our home so decking height varies measuring between 50mm for the planks that are on the old patio and around 600 mm at the end of the patio as the ground slopes away. Yesterday out of the blue we had an enforcement notice saying if we did not apply for planning enforcement would take it down within 21 days. Prior to this six months before building the new decking we consulted the site owners and they approved our decking and said nothing about needing planning. There are at least 10 other properties with this kind of style and height of decking around our park, yet we get slammed with the notice by our complaining neighbour. The first question is.. What are the rules reference mobile homes, the site owner said our mobile home has wheels and the decking can be removed so being as it's temporary structure planning is not applicable like Bricks n mortar properties... I can t find anything on the net referring to this temporary structure home issue.. Note the planning officer visited yesterday aswell and closed her eyes as we tried to point out all the other properties having the same decking sayng' I didn't see that.' . So what are the rules re park homes and of course the 300mm rule if we do need planning

 

[IT Minion]

In most cases decking cannot be more than 30cm off the ground without planning permission. The sticking point is where you measure from. Most places measure from the highest natural point. So in your case 5cm. However some places measure from the lowest point, which would be 60cm

I suspect you'll need to check with your local authority to see which measure they use. If it's highest point then they've made a mistake and they might back down. There was a thread where that happened not too long ago in building regulations.