Building regulations drawings in Richmond upon Thames

Heritage cover in Richmond upon Thames and what it means on site

Richmond upon Thames has 85 conservation areas and Historic England lists 819 entries. The borough also contains 16 registered parks and gardens, 6 scheduled monuments and 1 World Heritage Site.

None of this changes the Building Regulations, which apply on every street. It changes the way we meet them. Inside a conservation area, replacing windows for better thermal performance, adding internal wall insulation or recovering a roof are all judged for their effect on character, so we draw the thermal build-up inside the existing line instead of outside it where we can.

On a listed house the stakes are higher. Changes to the fabric, even invisible ones, can need listed building consent that is separate from both planning and building control. We flag early where a technical choice would trigger it, so you are not caught between consents.

Owner-occupied houses, large plots and ambitious projects

About 62.4 per cent of households own their home and 59.8 per cent live in a house or bungalow. Owners with houses to improve generate a steady flow of applications: the council decided 1,302 householder applications in its latest published year.

Larger schemes go beyond a simple rear extension. A big loft or a two-storey side addition raises structure and fire questions that the Approved Documents answer in detail. We coordinate with your engineer so the beam sizes and the foundation depth on our sheets match their calculations.

How quickly Richmond decides, and why it still pays to prepare early

The council granted 83.3 per cent of householder applications and decided 98.3 per cent on time. It also granted 78 larger home extension prior approvals and refused 30.

Those figures show a council that moves quickly, so the technical drawings can become the slower part. We start them once the design is settled, aiming to finish them as the planning decision lands.

Building control body must decide a full plans application within 5 weeks, or longer if agreed in writing. We submit full plans, so the building control decision can be in hand before your builder starts.

Notices, energy rules and what the set contains

A house extended in earlier phases may have each phase built to a different standard. We record what exists before showing what is new, so the examiner sees how new work ties into old fabric and which parts are already compliant.

Give notice of intention to start; work may start 2 days after the notice. Our handover pack lists the notice dates for your builder, because a missed notice can delay the completion certificate.

Energy rules are moving: AD L 2026 (Home Energy Model) takes effect 24 Mar 2027 for non-higher-risk work. For a heritage house, where insulation is often the hardest thing to place, we say which edition the set follows.

A Richmond set normally includes foundation and floor plans, sections, wall, floor and roof build-ups, drainage and a materials specification, and a second chartered technologist checks every sheet. We ask for the planning decision or certificate and any survey you hold.

Related services and neighbouring boroughs

Start with planning drawings in Richmond upon Thames if the design is not yet agreed, and structural calculations in Richmond upon Thames for the engineer's figures. For the whole borough, see architectural drawings in Richmond upon Thames.

Over the boundary, building regulations drawings in Hounslow, in Kingston upon Thames and in Wandsworth each follow their own council's guidance.