What to expect
| Typical duration | Adds weeks to months to the approval programme |
|---|---|
| Cost band | Figures live in the cost index |
| Permit required | Yes — settlement approval in addition to the building permit |
| Seasonal constraint | Not seasonal, but approval timing shapes the build calendar |
What the controls actually reach
The principle is that the collective appearance of the settlement is a shared asset, so individual external changes are regulated. In practice the controls typically touch:
- External materials and finishes — what the walls are rendered and finished in.
- Colour — palettes are controlled, and this catches new owners most often. Any shade you like is not the position.
- Openings — size, proportion, subdivision, and whether shutters are required.
- Roof and volume — form, height, parapets, and how an addition reads against the original.
- Visible equipment — air conditioning condensers, solar water heaters, photovoltaic panels, satellite dishes, extract terminals.
- Boundary treatment — walls, gates, railings, and terracing visible from public areas.
- Balustrades and terraces, particularly where visible from the caldera or the sea.
Where it sits in the programme
This is the sequencing point that saves the most money.
- Establish the designation and the applicable controls before design work starts. It costs almost nothing and it defines the envelope.
- Design within those controls, testing the elevations against them as the scheme develops rather than at the end.
- Settlement approval — which in practice means the Council of Architecture where it applies. See council of architecture.
- Building permit, with the approved external design as a fixed input.
Working with the rules rather than against them
Owners frequently arrive frustrated by the controls, and the practical reality is that most of what people want is achievable — it just has to be achieved differently.
- You want more light
- Larger openings on the visible elevation may be refused. Rooflights, internal courtyards, openings on non-visible elevations and rethinking the internal plan frequently deliver more usable light than a bigger window would have.
- You want a glass balustrade
- Full-height frameless glass on a visible caldera terrace is often unacceptable. Glass set below a solid parapet, or a section rather than a run, is frequently permitted. See glass balustrades.
- You want air conditioning
- The unit cannot sit on a visible elevation. Grouped and screened plant, a roof void behind a parapet, or an inland elevation solves it — decided at design stage, not on installation day. See air conditioning.
- You want solar
- Visible panels are restricted. Siting behind parapets, on non-visible slopes or on ancillary structures is the usual route. See photovoltaics.
- You want a contemporary interior
- Interiors are generally not what the controls are about. The constraint is what is visible from outside, which leaves a great deal of freedom inside.
What this trade covers
- Establish the designation and applicable controls for your specific property before design starts.
- Coordinate with your architect so the scheme is developed inside the envelope rather than corrected afterwards.
- Build in compliant materials — lime render and wash, local stone, traditional profiles — and to the standards the approval assumes. See plastering and masonry.
- Detail concealment for services and equipment, designed in rather than added.
- Handle the practical side of matching: sourcing and reclaiming stone, matching existing joinery profiles, and getting the colour right rather than approximately right.
- Advise where an existing unauthorised change needs regularising before new work can be approved. See legalisation.
Questions people actually ask
How do I know if my property is in a designated settlement?
It is established from the property's location against the designation, and it is one of the first things to check — before buying if possible, because it materially affects what you can do with the building.
Can I paint my house blue?
Colour is controlled and the permitted palette is settlement-specific. The assumption that any blue is acceptable because the island is associated with it is the most common misunderstanding we encounter.
Do the rules apply to the inside?
Generally the controls are about external appearance. Structural work still needs a permit regardless, and internal changes affecting anything visible externally — an opening, a roof terminal — engage the settlement rules.
What if the previous owner made changes without approval?
That has to be resolved before new work can be approved, and it is extremely common. It is better found during a purchase survey than during your permit application. See legalisation.
How much does the approval add to the programme?
Weeks to months, depending on meeting frequency and whether the scheme is sent back. Designing within the controls from the start is the main way to keep it at the shorter end.