Walk-on terraces

If you’re short on outdoor space, you could consider turning your flat roof into a stylish terrace

- BETHANY SCOTT

Have you got a flat roof in front of your first-floor bedroom? If so, you may have thought about adding a terrace on top of it as the ideal place to sip drinks on a warm summer evening. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy to do as you may think.

For clarity, balconies tend to be platforms, whereas terraces tend to be atop extensions, for example, and in this feature we're talking about terraces.

Local planning rules often object to first-floor terraces. The main concern generally tends to be about privacy — as a terrace will overlook your neighbours’ back gardens. But there are some circumstances where a terrace is more likely to pass planning. For example, if your flat-roof extension is well shielded from neighbours.

Alternatively, if your garden is partially sunken and the extension is considered to be part of the lower-ground floor (at basement level), your terrace would be deemed to be on the ground floor, and more likely to get approval.