According to new research by Screwfix, the huge increase in the number of those working at home, coupled with lower construction costs and fewer planning restrictions, has seen garden offices replace traditional home extensions.

In-depth analysis of Google Earth images discovered that there could be as many as 30 million outbuildings in Britain. Sales of sheds and garden offices are thought to be booming as householders look to lower-cost outbuildings in a bid to expand their living space without breaking the bank.

John Mewett from Screwfix said, “Our tradesmen are telling us that their customers are investing in sheds, log cabins and other outbuildings as a way of increasing the size of the domestic living space.”

Alex Johnson, shed expert and author of the newly-published book ‘Shedworking’, said, “There is a lot to be said for getting away from the bricks and mortar – in my view that’s why sheds are so popular.”

Neither Planning Permission nor Building Regulation approval is required for outbuildings provided that:

They do not cover more than half of the area of the garden; not including the area occupied by the house.

They contain no sleeping accommodation and the floor area does not exceed 15 square metres.

No point is less than one metre from a boundary and it is not more than three metres high for a flat roof, or four metres with a ridged roof.

No part projects beyond any wall of the house that faces a road and the outbuilding is for use only by those who occupy the house.

Building Regulations do state that structures built of combustible material (i.e. a wooden shed) must be at least two metres from the main house.