Burn Bridge sits just south of Pannal, still in HG3, with the town a short way north and open fields to the west. It is a small place of houses along the lane, not a grid of closes. Our team treats the slope, and the burn at the bottom of some gardens, as the facts that shape the deck.
Houses along the lane
Spring Lane and the road through the hamlet carry cottages and later family houses, stone and brick mixed, with drives that meet a lane rather than a wide estate road. Gardens are private and often deeper than they look from the front. A deck here is usually at the back, off the garden doors, with the view down the plot rather than towards the lane.
Pannal is the larger neighbour, with its own conservation area around the old centre. Burn Bridge is a separate cluster in the same parish. We do not assume a Pannal rule applies to a house on this lane, and we do not assume it does not. Planning Data shows conservation areas. If a house is inside one, or on the edge, the map says so. A listed house is a further step. The Planning Portal is plain that a deck in the grounds of a listed building is not covered by the ordinary rules for a house.
For an ordinary house the Portal's starting point is a deck no more than 30 cm above the existing ground, no more than half the garden with other extensions and outbuildings, and nothing in front of the main front wall. A falling garden makes that 30 cm easy to miss. Low at the door can be high at the lawn. We measure the outer edge, not the step by the kitchen.
Gardens towards the burn
The place is named for the water the lane crosses. Some gardens run down towards that burn. Some only tilt a little, and the water is a field away. We do not treat every back lawn as a riverside plot. The flood map for planning is the check for the address. We do not publish a zone, and we do not tell the lane it floods because a burn exists.
Where the garden does fall to the water, the deck wants to sit on the usable upper ground, near the house, and leave the steeper bank alone unless it is properly held. A fascia board is not a wall. If the bank is moving, or it is being asked to hold a new load, that is retaining work, which we describe in the guide to decks and retaining. The deck and the bank are designed together. One does not pretend to be the other.
Posts on a slope need depth and a hole that is square to the post, not a scrape in the side of the hill. Concrete sets the post. The frame is braced so it does not rack downhill. Boards run so water sheds, and the underside stays open. Air under the joists matters more on a damp lower garden than on a dry hilltop.
Getting materials to the garden
The lane is the constraint. A van should wait on a drive, not on the narrow road. We keep a passing space and carry from there. Long boards are cut in the garden. Off-cuts leave with us.
If the only way down is a steep path, we carry in smaller loads and we do not take a trolley down wet grass. The BGS Geology Viewer is the regional map. The hole tells us what this plot is. We are not spreading a platform over a bank that wants to slip.
Level, guard and the house
Height is taken from the ground already there. If any part of the walking surface stands more than 30 cm above that ground, the usual house allowance no longer covers it, and an application is the path to discuss with the council before we build. Where a person could fall more than about 600 mm, a guard is the usual Building Regulations idea. On these slopes that guard is common at the lower edge and unnecessary at a side that stays low. We guard the drop, not the whole outline, unless the whole outline is the drop.
Boards stop short of the wall so rain can fall clear of the stone or brick. When you ask for a quote, say whether the garden falls to the burn or only slopes, and whether the house is on the lane. We will measure before we decide.
Frequently asked questions about decking in Burn Bridge
Is Burn Bridge the same job as Pannal?
No. Pannal has its own old centre and its own checks. Burn Bridge is the smaller place to the south, with houses along the lane and gardens that often fall towards the water. We look at the plot, not the parish name.
Can the deck hold the bank up?
No. A deck is a frame and a walking surface. If the bank needs holding, that is separate retaining work, designed with the deck rather than replaced by it.
Do you publish a flood zone for the burn?
No. The flood map for planning is an address check. We do not give the lane a number. If the map shows a constraint, the frame stays open underneath.
When does the lower edge need a rail?
When someone could fall more than about 600 mm. On a slope that is often the outer edge. A side that stays near the ground usually does not need the same guard.
Sources: Planning Portal: decking; BGS Geology Viewer; Flood map for planning; Planning Data: conservation areas.