To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department has issued on the definition of the (a) front and (b) back of a property for the purposes of the new permitted development rights for small household extensions and works. (288108)

The terms ‘front of a property’ and ‘back of a property’ are not included in part 1 of schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995. The Department has not issued guidance on the interpretation of these terms. Where terms are properly capable of more than one meaning it is for local planning authorities to take a view in the first instance. Ultimately, statutory interpretation is a matter for the courts.