The maximum allowable extension size which is exempt from planning permission has been increased from 23 sq m to 40 sq m.

This almost doubles the size allowable as a first-time extension, and is designed to free up local authority planners for their real business, speeding up planning decisions and coping with the current housing crisis.

The move was recommended in the recent Bacon report and approved by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey. The new regulations contain a number of conditions. These include:

Where the house is terraced or semi-detached, the first-floor area of the extension, if any, should not exceed 12 sq m.

Where the house is detached the first-floor area of the extension, if any, shall not exceed 20 sq m.

Where the house has been previously extended, the floor area of previous extensions, including those for which planning permission has been obtained, should not exceed 40 sq m. In other words, any new extension which would increase the extended area of the original house will still require planning permission.

In the case of a semi-detached or terraced house which was previously extended, the floor area of any first-floor extension should not exceed the floor area of the existing first-floor extension, or 12 sq m, whichever is the greater. In other words, no new upstairs extensions bigger than the original ones, and new ones are capped at 12 sq m.

In the case of a detached house which has been previously extended, the floor area of a first-floor extension should not exceed the floor area of the existing first-floor extension, or 20 metres whichever is the greater. In other words no first-floor extensions bigger than the original ones, and new ones capped at 20 sq m.

The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, said the regulations would remove about 30 per cent of the planning applications currently before local authorities.