Orangery and conservatory drawings for North Molton homes — checked against the Class A rear limits and the 30m² building-regulations exemption, drawn to North Devon District Council's guidance and revised free until your decision.
North Devon District Council granted 98% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 11 points above the 87% England-wide householder average. North Molton contains Molland, North Molton conservation areas (Molland designated 1975), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal, which is where a policy-literate drawing pack earns its keep. Its dominant Victorian (1837–1901) and postwar (1945–1970) housing stock sets the design brief on most streets.
The permitted-development ceilings are fixed: 40m³ of new roof volume for a terraced loft and 50m³ for a semi or detached house under Class B, plus a 3m single-storey rear extension on a terrace or 4m on a detached house under Class A. In conservation areas such as Molland and North Molton those rights are removed, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in North Molton is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Molland (conservation area designated in 1975), North Molton (conservation area designated in 2013), Brayford (civil parish within North Molton), East and West Buckland (civil parish within North Molton), Molland (civil parish within North Molton) and Twitchen (civil parish within North Molton) — these are the North Molton pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Molland and North Molton. North Devon District Council weighs each proposal against the adopted North Devon local plan and North Devon District Council's design guidance for householder work, where the 1,060 homes here are 46% pre-1900, 9% 1973-1982, 7% 1945-1954, which is what sets the realistic roof and rear-projection options. On roofs the borough is steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building and shallow trussed roofs typical of 1970s building, over Victorian and earlier houses (46% of 1,060 homes), 1970s and early-1980s houses (9%) and early postwar houses (7%).
Before anything is drawn we check your address against the designations that apply in North Molton: Molland (conservation area designated in 1975) and North Molton (conservation area designated in 2013). Inside those boundaries permitted development is curtailed and North Devon District Council assesses materials, window detail and roof form against the area's own appraisal, so a scheme that would be waved through two streets away can need a full application here.
Beyond the designated areas, North Molton takes in Brayford, East and West Buckland, Molland and Twitchen. No Article 4 direction is recorded for North Devon District Council, but North Molton's 2 conservation areas still limit permitted development on those streets.
On stock, North Molton is Victorian and earlier houses (46% of 1,060 homes), 1970s and early-1980s houses (9%) and early postwar houses (7%) — which is why steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building and shallow trussed roofs typical of 1970s building govern what a loft or rear projection can realistically be. North Devon District Council decided 301 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 98%, with 67% issued inside the eight-week target. That decision record, not a national figure, is what we design to.
The full build-period split for North Molton runs pre-1900 46% (490 homes), 1900-1918 2% (20 homes), 1919-1929 2% (20 homes), 1930-1939 3% (30 homes), 1945-1954 7% (70 homes), 1955-1964 4% (40 homes), 1965-1972 5% (50 homes), 1973-1982 9% (100 homes), 1983-1992 5% (50 homes), 1993-1999 4% (40 homes) and 2000-2008 4% (40 homes). That distribution is why pre-1900 detailing dominates the drawings here, and it is measured from council-tax records rather than assumed from the street name.
North Devon District Council also decides for Barnstaple Central, Barnstaple with Pilton, Bickington, Bishop's Nympton, Bratton Fleming, Chittlehampton, Chulmleigh and Heanton Punchardon, so a decision in North Molton sits inside a wider pattern of decisions we track across the same authority — useful when an officer cites a precedent from the next area over.
Published figures for North Molton and North Devon District Council. These are the numbers that decide what is realistic on your street, so we work from them rather than from national averages.
| Measure | North Molton |
|---|---|
| Dwellings recorded | 1,060 |
| Built pre-1900 | 490 (46%) |
| Built 1900-1918 | 20 (2%) |
| Built 1919-1929 | 20 (2%) |
| Built 1930-1939 | 30 (3%) |
| Built 1945-1954 | 70 (7%) |
| Built 1955-1964 | 40 (4%) |
| Built 1965-1972 | 50 (5%) |
| Built 1973-1982 | 100 (9%) |
| Built 1983-1992 | 50 (5%) |
| Built 1993-1999 | 40 (4%) |
| Built 2000-2008 | 40 (4%) |
| Built before 1919 | 48% |
| Built 1919–1939 | 5% |
| Built 1945–2008 | 37% |
| Conservation areas in North Molton | 2 (Molland, North Molton) |
| Conservation areas district-wide | 41 |
| Article 4 directions recorded | 0 |
| Householder applications decided | 301 |
| Householder applications granted | 98% |
| Decided within 8 weeks | 67% |
Dwelling stock from VOA council-tax data at 31 March 2025; conservation-area and Article 4 counts from planning.data.gov.uk (MHCLG); decision figures are North Devon District Council's own, from MHCLG live table PS2 for the year to 31 March 2026.
The difference is not marketing. A conservatory is predominantly glazed — at least three quarters of the roof and half of the walls — which is what earns it the building-regulations exemption. An orangery has a solid masonry perimeter with a glazed lantern set into a flat roof, so it usually reads as a conventional extension for building control and has to meet Part L thermal standards, Part A structure and Part B fire like any other room.
Both are judged the same way for planning: as rear extensions, against the Class A depth, height and eaves limits, and against the adopted North Devon local plan and North Devon District Council's design guidance for householder work. North Molton is largely Victorian and earlier houses (46% of 1,060 homes), 1970s and early-1980s houses (9%) and early postwar houses (7%), and the design question is usually whether the glazing reads as a lightweight addition to that stock or as a bolted-on conservatory kit. On period houses, an orangery with a properly proportioned lantern almost always sits better than a full-height glazed box.
In conservation areas such as Molland and North Molton, rear glazing is assessed on visibility from the street and on the effect on the rear elevation's character. No Article 4 direction is recorded for North Devon District Council, but North Molton's 2 conservation areas still limit permitted development on those streets.
Many conservatories are permitted development. You will need an application to North Devon District Council where any of these apply:
We check the scheme against the Class A planning limits and against the building-regulations exemption at the same time, so you know before committing whether you are building an exempt conservatory or a fully regulated room.
Below is North Devon District Council's real householder decision record, drawn from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. North Devon District Council granted 98% of its householder applications in the year to 31 March 2026, and Molland shapes what is approved here. Glazed rear additions are judged on depth, eaves height and how the glazing meets the existing elevation.
Source: MHCLG planning application statistics (householder decisions, England, 1 April 2025 - 31 March 2026). Compare every borough on our London approval-rate league table.
Tell us about your project and get a fixed, no-obligation quote back within one working day. If you don't need planning permission at all, we'll tell you that too — for free.
Across Molland, North Molton and Brayford, the schemes that succeed keep the eaves below the neighbour's ground-floor cill line, set the glazing back from the boundary, and use a solid parapet or brick perimeter to tie the addition into the house. On victorian and earlier houses (46% of 1,060 homes), a lantern set in a flat roof usually reads better than a pitched glazed roof, and it avoids the summer overheating that makes full conservatories unusable for months a year.
North Molton contains Molland, North Molton conservation areas (Molland designated 1975), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal. The decision worth making early is whether to keep the separating doors. Keeping them preserves the building-regulations exemption but leaves you with a room that is not part of the house; removing them creates one continuous space but brings the whole addition inside Part L, which changes the glazing specification and usually the heating design too. We set out both versions before you commit.
We draw glazed rear additions across North Molton. A few of the areas where they come up most often:
Orangery and conservatory drawings for Molland — conservation area designated in 1975 — checked against the Class A limits and drawn to North Devon District Council's guidance.
Orangery and conservatory drawings for North Molton — conservation area designated in 2013 — checked against the Class A limits and drawn to North Devon District Council's guidance.
Orangery and conservatory drawings for Brayford — civil parish within North Molton — checked against the Class A limits and drawn to North Devon District Council's guidance.
Orangery and conservatory drawings for East and West Buckland — civil parish within North Molton — checked against the Class A limits and drawn to North Devon District Council's guidance.
Orangery and conservatory drawings for Molland — civil parish within North Molton — checked against the Class A limits and drawn to North Devon District Council's guidance.
Orangery and conservatory drawings for Twitchen — civil parish within North Molton — checked against the Class A limits and drawn to North Devon District Council's guidance.
The planning test is the same for both. The building-regulations test is not.
| Structure | Planning route | Building regulations | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservatory under 30m², doors retained | Class A rear extension limits | Largely exempt | Cheaper build, unheated in winter |
| Conservatory, doors removed | Class A rear extension limits | Part L applies in full | Continuous space, higher spec glazing |
| Orangery with solid perimeter and lantern | Class A rear extension limits | Fully regulated | Usable year round, better on period houses |
| Any of the above beyond the depth limits | Full householder application | As above | 8-week determination |
| Any of the above on designated land | Full householder application | As above | Design and visibility assessed |
Planning limits from the GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1, Class A; exemption criteria from the Building Regulations 2010, Schedule 2, Class 7.
A fixed process covering both consents, because they pull in different directions.
Send us your North Molton postcode and house type. We confirm the Class A limits that apply, check designation status, and score your odds against live North Devon District Council decisions.
We measure the rear elevation, eaves and ground levels, and the neighbouring boundary — the numbers that decide both the projection limit and the 2-metre eaves rule.
Chartered designers develop the orangery or conservatory to your brief, and we set out clearly whether it stays inside the building-regulations exemption or becomes a fully regulated room.
We submit the certificate or application, manage validation and officer queries, and revise free until North Devon District Council decides.
Often not. A conservatory is treated as a rear extension, so it can be permitted development within the Class A limits — 3 metres of projection on a terrace or semi, 4 metres on a detached house, with eaves under 3 metres where it sits within 2 metres of a boundary. In North Molton you will need an application to North Devon District Council beyond those limits, and on designated land such as Molland and North Molton.
A conservatory is largely exempt if it is under 30 square metres, at ground level, separated from the house by external-quality doors, and has at least 75% of its roof and 50% of its walls glazed. Glazing, electrics and any drainage work still have to comply. Remove the separating doors and the exemption falls away — the space becomes part of the house and Part L thermal standards apply. This applies to your North Molton address specifically. North Devon District Council is the decision-maker.
For planning, none — both are rear extensions assessed against the same Class A limits by North Devon District Council. The difference is in building control: an orangery's solid perimeter and flat roof with a lantern usually means it fails the glazing test for exemption, so it is fully regulated. That is why an orangery costs more to build but is comfortable in January. This applies to your North Molton address specifically.
Usually yes at the rear, though permitted-development rights are narrower on designated land and an Article 4 direction can remove them entirely. The assessment turns on whether the addition is visible from the street and how it meets the original rear elevation. A restrained orangery in matching brick with a lantern is consistently easier to get through than a proprietary glazed conservatory. This applies to your North Molton address specifically. North Devon District Council is the decision-maker.
A fully glazed roof will, unless it is specified for it. That is the practical reason most of our clients end up building an orangery instead: a solid insulated roof perimeter with a lantern gives daylight without the greenhouse effect, and keeps the space usable across the year. We raise it at design stage because it is much cheaper to solve on paper than after the build. This applies to your North Molton address specifically. North Devon District Council is the decision-maker.
If you excavate foundations within 3 metres of a neighbouring structure and deeper than its foundations, or build on the boundary itself, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies and notice must be served. That is separate from North Devon District Council's planning decision. We flag it at design stage so the notice period does not delay the start on site. This applies to your North Molton address specifically.
We quote each North Molton orangery or conservatory individually, because the structure and the roof form change the work considerably, and send a fixed, no-obligation quote within one working day. It covers the full drawing pack with free revisions until North Devon District Council approves. Call 020 7864 7245 to start.
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