Yes. On a house with its permitted development rights intact, a freestanding pergola up to 2.5 metres high needs no application, and 2.5 metres is the hard ceiling wherever any part of it sits within 2 metres of a boundary … further back than that, the limit rises to 3 metres overall, or 4 metres with a dual-pitched roof.
Those figures are the ceiling, not a target, and they sit alongside the same 50% garden-coverage limit and a 2.5-metre cap on eaves height. On a narrow plot that 2-metre line often decides the whole design, so measure to the nearest fence before anything is fixed. BCP Council is the planning authority for Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch alike, so the same limits apply across all three. My pergola planning permission page covers the coverage and elevation limits alongside this one.
How high can it be if it is more than two metres from the boundary?
Up to 3 metres overall for most roof shapes, or 4 metres where the roof is genuinely dual-pitched rather than flat, lean-to or a single slope. The distance is measured to the nearest boundary, not an average, so a pergola angled across a garden can sit close to one fence and far from another, and the lower 2.5m limit applies if any part comes within 2 metres of either.
How high can a pergola be beside my boundary?
2.5 metres overall, measured from ground level, is the ceiling for any part of a freestanding pergola within 2 metres of a boundary line, whichever direction that boundary runs. It is the same figure whether the boundary is a fence, a wall or a hedge, and it applies to the whole structure, not just the section nearest the line.
If you want a straight answer for your own garden, ring Alfie on 07841 319560.
Related: back to planning permission for decking and pergolas: the questions Bournemouth homeowners ask.
Related: does fixing the pergola to the house mean it becomes an extension?