Swimming or other pools (permissions)

​Planning permission

Planning permission for an open air, in-ground, domestic swimming pool or any other domestic pool or pond is not required if:

• the pool or pond is being built within your domestic curtilage (‘domestic curtilage’ is the area of land on which a dwelling house sits which is used for residential purposes. It does not include a field or other open land next to a house, even if it is in the same ownership)
• there are no retaining structures around (and including) the pool or pond that are higher than 1.2 metres
• the pool or pond is not situated in front of a principal elevation of your house (‘principal elevation’ means any elevation that faces and is within 20 metres of a public road. A ‘public road’ is a road or footpath which is maintained at the expense of the public)
• the property is not registered as a listed building or place (LBP) or a potential listed building or place (pLBP) and does not fall within an area of archaeological potential (AAP)

You may also demolish a swimming pool or other pool or pond without planning permission provided that the infilling of land where the pool was, must be of clean and inert material.

Note: You will need planning permission if your 'permitted development' rights have been removed by a condition on a previous Planning Permit in the last 30 years or so.

Is my property or site listed?
Making an application - planning

Building permission

Building permission is not required for open air swimming pools.

Other considerations

Planning and building permissions are required for buildings over a certain size that may be constructed in connection with a swimming pool, such as a pump house and changing rooms.  

Small detached buildings 

You will not require building permission if:

• it's a detached single-storey building
• the internal floor area is not more than 20 sq metres
• it contains no sleeping accommodation 
• no part of it is any closer than 1 metre to the boundary, or if less than 1 metre from a boundary, it has external walls and a roof covering constructed substantially of non-combustible material

Making an application - building
Exempt buildings and structures on Jersey Legal Information Board website
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