Housing and Regeneration Minister, Carl Sargeant has announced that householders will soon be able to carry out additional changes to their property without the need for planning permission.

The changes, which will come into force on 30 September 2013, will allow property owners to build a larger range of extensions and garden buildings, without submitting a planning application.

The Minister said: "Ensuring that the people of Wales have quality, affordable and secure homes is my number one priority.

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"These changes will allow some of the smaller, less contentious alterations and improvements to houses exempt from the planning process.

"The aim of these changes is to balance the provision of greater flexibility for householders with a need to protect the interests of communities and the impact of development on the environment.

"As well as giving the householders the flexibility to carry out small improvements to their homes without needing to spend time and money in seeking planning permission, I hope that this will also allow local authorities to focus their attention on larger, more complex planning applications.

"The current limit means that often, only one extension can be built without planning permission. These changes will mean that a property can have extensions to the roof, side and rear without permission, as long as certain requirements are met."

(CD/MH)