Council backs down garage restrictions

Door & Hardware Federation claim victory as council backs down on garage size.

DHF, the trade association representing the UK garage door industry ended a three year campaign for larger garages in new build properties with a victory after a local authority finally acknowledged that its policy of encouraging smaller garages to reduce car usage has failed.

Initially started by the Association of garage doors specialists

Julie Chester, chairman of the garage door installers and distributors group of the Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) commented that

“This has totally vindicated our campaign of persuading developers and councils that the restrictions have made garages so small that many modern cars cannot fit in them.”  

For the past decade the government has actively encouraged developers to reduce the size of new build garages in an attempt to discourage the use of the car. The policy has ultimately failed after a survey carried out by Essex County Council high-lighted that 78% of garages on new build properties within the county are not used to park cars in. The main feedback homeowners gave was that vehicles did not comfortably fit inside.

Homeowners on new estates said this has led to an increase in the number of cars parked either in the road, on the pavement or even on cycle paths.

According to Ms Chester, “At the start of the campaign we pointed out that these unused small garages in modern homes would only add to parking congestion on the roads. Their policy on garage size has led to residents on housing developments parking on the street, blocking access to emergency services vehicles and refuse lorries, and leaving their cars at greater risk from damage and theft, just as we originally warned.”  

A result of the campaign has led to the increase in size of garages from 5 metres x 2.5 metres to a size of 7 metres x 3 metres.

The new garage size guidelines from Essex County Council will now be treated as a minimum rather than a maximum leaving developers free to design the size of the garage they know customers want.