Building regulations drawings in Wandsworth

Conservation areas and listed buildings change the detail

Wandsworth publishes 46 conservation areas, and Historic England lists 312 entries in the borough, including 267 at Grade II. Planning decides what you may build in those places. Building Regulations still apply to what you build, and the two meet at the details: window replacements, insulation to old walls and roof-lights in a protected slope.

In an older house the energy-saving work has to be balanced against the historic fabric, so we draw the insulation build-up and the ventilation of the old walls and roof with care, and discuss anything unusual with building control before submission. For a listed house, listed building consent is a separate approval from the technical set.

Timings and notices for a Wandsworth project

The national timings apply in full. For a full plans application: Building control body must decide a full plans application within 5 weeks, or longer if agreed in writing. Before starting: Give notice of intention to start; work may start 2 days after the notice.

Once on site, you must notify commencement and completion. The first rule is: Notify commencement within 5 days after work is regarded as commenced. The second is: Notify completion within 5 days of completing the work. We list both on the handover sheet so your builder has the dates in one place.

If you are submitting a building notice instead of full plans, it ceases after 3 years unless work has started. For a basement or loft in an older Wandsworth terrace we recommend full plans, so there is a decision before the first excavation.

Energy rules and the coming change to Approved Document L

Approved Document L is changing. The current position is: AD L 2026 (Home Energy Model) takes effect 24 Mar 2027 for non-higher-risk work. Transitional arrangements can decide which edition applies to your work, so we check the dates when we quote.

We design to whichever edition governs your submission and tell you if timing could help or hurt. Where the project also needs an energy rating, our SAP calculations in Wandsworth are coordinated with the same set.

Planning context: how Wandsworth decides applications

Wandsworth decided 977 householder applications in its latest published year and granted 91.9 per cent, with 92.4 per cent decided in time. Those figures belong to planning, not to building control, and they describe all household projects in the borough rather than yours.

We mention them because a planning decision usually arrives before the technical set is submitted, and its conditions pass down to the drawings. A condition on materials or on a window detail is a technical matter by the time it reaches site.

What you receive and related services in Wandsworth

A Wandsworth set normally includes foundation and floor plans, sections, structural details agreed with the engineer, drainage, insulation and ventilation notes, and a specification. It starts at £845 with VAT included, fixed before you commit, and sheets are normally ready about a week after the survey. A second chartered technologist checks every sheet.

The set is coordinated with structural engineering in Wandsworth and drawn from the same model as your construction drawings in Wandsworth. For the borough overview, see architectural drawings in Wandsworth.

Next door, compare Lambeth, Merton and Richmond upon Thames, or read the overview of building regulations drawings.