Double-storey extension drawings in Richmond upon Thames

Conservation areas and listed houses

Richmond upon Thames has 85 conservation areas, so the first question for any address is whether it sits inside one. In a conservation area the national rule is plain: No rear extension of more than one storey under PD on article 2(3) land. There is no shortcut through permitted development, so the scheme is a householder application judged on its merits.

The borough also has 819 listed building entries. A listed house needs listed building consent for most changes, and for that we would suggest a separate conversation before any two-storey design is drawn.

Away from protected land, the national tests for an upper-floor addition are still tight: Over one storey: max 3 m beyond the original rear wall and not within 7 m of the rear boundary. A scheme that goes beyond that needs permission, and is then judged against the local guidance above.

Gardens, Green Belt and the pressure on plots

Domestic gardens make up around 19.4 per cent of the land in the borough, and Green Belt covers 2 per cent of the council area. Gardens are the setting that a second storey changes most, which is why upper-floor depth and the view from the neighbour's garden are tested so closely.

Where the house sits near the Green Belt edge or open land, bulk is read against the setting as well as the street. We model that view from the neighbour's side before choosing between a full-width and a part-width upper floor.

Householder decisions in Richmond upon Thames

In its latest published year the council decided 1,302 householder applications, granted 83.3 per cent and decided 98.3 per cent within eight weeks or an agreed extension.

The figures cover all householder work, so they describe how quickly applications move, not how a particular two-storey design will be read.

Upper-floor details we draw for you

A bedroom over a new kitchen needs an escape route: 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. Side windows at first-floor level carry this condition: Upper-floor side windows obscure-glazed and non-opening below 1.7 m above floor. Both are settled on the drawings so the builder does not improvise them.

The structure comes next. A new storey bears on walls and foundations that were never designed for it, so our structural calculations in Richmond upon Thames work is arranged to follow the design, once the plan is fixed.

Cost, neighbouring boroughs and related drawings

The fee is £1,295 with VAT included, fixed up front, and the council charges £548 for a householder application. You receive both floors, elevations, sections and site plans, checked by a second chartered technologist, and we redraw at no charge if the council asks for changes.

If the upper floor is not essential, a rear extension in Richmond upon Thames can be simpler to deliver. Nearby, the same job is covered for Hounslow and Kingston upon Thames. The whole borough is described under architectural drawings in Richmond upon Thames, and the national picture in our double-storey extension drawings guide.