Can I sink a garden building to get more headroom?

[Jonathan Sharman]

I am looking at options to build a workshop and art studio in my garden. The only place I can fit this is in will break the 2m from boundary rule and therefore limit me to 2.5m max height.

One option I am thinking about is to sink the building by 0.5m so that I can get a useable headroom and a good level of insulation.

Questions:

• Am I allowed to do this within permitted building rules
• Can anyone give me any pointers on the best way to achieve this, e.g is the best thing to do build a .5m concrete tray with sides and build the wood structure from ground level upwards, or build the wood structure down to a concrete platform and ensure that this is a well drained gap around the whole building.

I am at a bit of a loss at the moment so any info that could get me started in the right direction would be very much appreciated.

Regards

Jon