Glasgow Planning Permission for Extensions — 2025 Guide
Permitted Development Rights, full planning, conservation areas and listed buildings — a clear guide for Glasgow homeowners.
Three planning routes in Glasgow
Permitted Development Rights (PDR): No application needed. Your project is automatically allowed within set limits.
Full planning permission: Required for double-storey, conservation areas, flats, and projects beyond PDR limits.
Listed Building Consent: Required on top of planning for any change to a listed structure.
Scotland's Permitted Development Rights — the headline limits
Single-storey, no taller than 4m
Maximum 50m² of new floor area
Doesn't extend more than 3m from the original rear wall (4m for detached)
Doesn't cover more than 50% of the original garden
Not forward of the principal elevation
Not on a flat, listed building, or in a conservation area (where PDR is restricted)
Glasgow's 23 conservation areas
PDR is heavily restricted in Glasgow West, Pollokshields, Strathbungo, Dennistoun, Cathcart, Park, Park Circus, Garnethill, and 15 others. If you live in one, assume you need full planning until proven otherwise.
Planning Permission Checker
Do you need planning permission?
Six quick questions — based on Scottish Permitted Development Rights.
Is your property a listed building?
Is it in a conservation area?
Is the property a flat or tenement?
Will the extension face a public road or be forward of the principal elevation?
Will the extension exceed 50% of the original garden / curtilage?
If you live in a tenement or flat, PDR doesn't apply at all. Every alteration that affects the external fabric needs full planning, and you'll likely need title-deed checks and consent from neighbours and the property factor.
Talk to a Glasgow planning specialist
Step 1 of 617%
What type of project?
Pick the closest match — we'll refine later.
Frequently asked questions
Not always. Many single-storey rear extensions on detached and semi-detached houses in Glasgow fall under Permitted Development Rights (PDR). Anything double-storey, in a conservation area, on a flat/tenement, or on a listed building generally needs full planning.