One of the most common planning applications councils recieve is for development within the grounds of a property. In order to be considered as a householder planning application those structures need to be within the curtilage of a property.
The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 does not include a standalone explicit definiton of “curtilage” and overtime the characterisitics that I consider when determining if it is I have collected from reading appeals and research on the internet.
My understanding is that Curtilage is considered in the UK to be the enclosed area of land adjacent to a dwelling house. A piece of ground lying immediately next to and belonging to a dwelling typically a courtyard or garden.
It can:
- Change in location and size over time according to use
- Include paddocks or any other land ‘useful to the domestic enjoyment of the occupants of the dwelling’
- Be used for ‘agricultural’ and ‘horticultural’ type purposes – provided that those activities are incidental to the enjoyment of the dwelling (e.g. a market garden used for self sufficiency, an orchard where the fruit is consumed solely by the occupiers).
It categorically cannot be:
- Separated or disconnected from the parent dwelling by a road or other means of shared or public access (e.g. a drive or footpath)
- In separate ownership to the associated dwelling (although it can be held under separate title)
- Be open, public or unenclosed land
- Be defined or restricted to an imaginary line on a plan or map
- Be restricted to a ‘de minimis’ area
- Be used for a non domestic purpose (E.g. for farming or other commercial activity)
A google search revealed a former lawyer named Martin Goodall who wrote extensively on planning, he wrote at length about the definition of curtilage and I believe those writings are still relevant (February 2025) links below.