Flat conversion drawings in Greenwich

What recent decisions say about small schemes

Greenwich decided 396 minor applications in the latest twelve months, the class that covers schemes of fewer than ten homes. It granted 79.3 per cent, and 92.7 per cent were decided on time. That is a quick and fairly permissive record for a borough with so many constraints, so a well-prepared scheme has a clear path.

Owners are weighing values too. A terraced house averages about £545,565 and a flat about £351,675. Only 48.4 per cent of households live in a house or bungalow, so a street of conversion-sized houses is worth noticing before you buy.

CIL and fees for flat schemes in Greenwich

Greenwich uses a borough charging schedule, and the latest version reads: £157.48/m² (residential under 10 units, borough-wide); £157.48/m² (10+ units, Zone 1); £100.79/m² (10+ units, Zone 2) The Mayor's levy puts the borough in band 3, indexed to £30.3 per square metre for permissions this year.

The council fee is £610 per flat created, and the usual small-development exemption does not apply to new dwellings. Greenwich also has an Article 4 direction for HMOs, so if you are choosing between flats and let rooms, we compare both before drawing.

What the Greenwich drawing set contains

You receive existing and proposed plans for every level, elevations, sections, a block plan and the area schedule, all drawn from a Revit model of a measured survey. Heritage drawings add a short appraisal of the front elevation. A second chartered technologist checks everything before submission.

Later, the building regulations drawings detail the sound separation required by Approved Document E: Separating walls 43 dB DnT,w+Ctr (min); floors and stairs 43 dB airborne (min), 64 dB L'nT,w impact (max) for dwellings formed by material change of use. See also architectural drawings in Greenwich for the wider constraints picture.

Where in Greenwich a conversion makes sense

Greenwich runs from the river and the old town through Blackheath to Eltham and Woolwich, and the opportunity changes with each. Victorian terraces in the older streets suit two flats, while the inter-war semis further out can take more generous layouts. Detached homes average about £1,009,528 and semi-detached about £712,724, and the borough average moved -1.4 per cent over twelve months.

The borough's household figures set the context: 114,052 households, with 41.1 per cent owner-occupied. A large share rent, so the market for a well-designed flat to let or sell is deep, but so is competition from new-build blocks.

Before you buy, we advise a quick screen. Is the house inside a conservation area, or near one of the 4 registered parks and gardens? Is it close to a place on the Heritage at Risk list, which has 22 entries in the borough? Those checks take minutes and prevent expensive surprises. For the application route that a conversion follows, see planning drawings in Greenwich.

Programme and cost control in Greenwich

Greenwich owners who plan well do three things in order. They confirm constraints before they exchange, they test the layout against the space standard before they brief a builder, and they price the levy and the council fee before they borrow. Each step is cheap compared with a refused scheme.

Our process fits that order. A free constraints check comes first, then a fixed quote, a measured survey and a set of layout options. A second chartered technologist checks every sheet before it goes to the council, and if officers ask for changes we redraw at no charge until approval. We cannot promise the decision, only that the drawings are complete, consistent and ready to defend.