Double-storey extension drawings in Camden

Conservation areas, Article 4 and listed buildings

Camden has 40 conservation areas and 21 Article 4 directions. Historic England lists 1,971 entries in the borough, and the register records 35 at risk. The national rule for protected land is: No rear extension of more than one storey under PD on article 2(3) land.

A listed house is a separate case. It needs listed building consent for most alterations, whatever the planning route, and the application has to show how much original fabric is affected. We check the address for every one of these before suggesting a design.

Domestic gardens make up 19.1 per cent of the borough's land, so rear garden space is worth protecting in the design. Our drawings show how much garden remains after the extension.

Houses, flats and the planning route

Only 13.3 per cent of Camden households live in a house or bungalow, and 29.7 per cent own their home. Householder rights cover houses, not flats, so a flat owner adding a floor needs a full application and, usually, the freeholder's consent.

Where permitted development does apply, the limit for more than one storey is: Over one storey: max 3 m beyond the original rear wall and not within 7 m of the rear boundary. Beyond that, a house needs a householder application, at a council fee of £548. We draw it with our planning drawings in Camden, and house extension drawings in Camden sets the other extension shapes beside it.

How Camden decides householder applications

Camden decided 394 householder applications in its latest published year and granted 89.1 per cent. Only 77.7 per cent were decided within eight weeks or an agreed extension, so allow more time here than the statutory period suggests.

These figures cover all household work, and none is specific to two-storey extensions. We use them to plan the timetable and the council's guidance to plan the design.

Upper floor, fire and party wall details

A new bedroom needs a way out: Escape window: unobstructed openable area at least 0.33 m², at least 450 mm high and 450 mm wide, bottom of opening no more than 1100 mm above floor. The roof has to follow the house: Roof pitch of a 2+ storey enlargement to match the original house so far as practicable. We draw both, with the stair and steel, in the building regulations drawings in Camden.

In a dense terrace the party wall matters too. A cut into a shared wall needs: Party structure notice at least 2 months before work. Foundations near a neighbour's fall under: Adjacent excavation notice at least 1 month before work: within 3 m and deeper than the neighbour's foundations, or within 6 m and cutting a 45° line from their foundations.

Price, process and nearby boroughs

Double-storey extension drawings start at £1,295 with VAT included, fixed before you commit. We survey on one datum, draw both floors and freeze the design in writing. A second chartered technologist checks every sheet, and if the council asks for changes we redraw at no charge until approval.

If a roof extension is the better answer, see loft conversion drawings in Camden. For the borough as a whole, read architectural drawings in Camden. Compare the same rules in Islington, Westminster and Barnet, or start from the overview of double-storey extension drawings.