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Kensington and Chelsea, London

Garden room drawings in Kensington and Chelsea

Garden room drawings in Kensington and Chelsea start at £495 including VAT. In a borough where only 17 per cent of households live in a house, a garden is scarce, so the drawings have to prove that a studio or office fits the plot, the trees and the heritage rules before a builder is booked.

From £495 (VAT included)

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  • Fixed fees, VAT included

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    Architectural model of a four-storey London stucco townhouse in its terrace, with a portico, area railings, sash windows, a cornice and chimney stacks
    The house as it stands: four storeys over a lower ground floor.Existing Proposed worksAn illustrative model, built for this page.

    How we work on garden room drawings

    Nine steps from first call to approval.

    The same model cut through the middle: every floor, the stair, the chimney breasts, the new mansard, rear extension and basement in section
    Section through the model: every floor on one datum.

    1. Enquiry and constraints check

      We check the property against conservation areas, listed status, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, flood zone and planning history. We choose the right route and send a fixed quote.

    2. Measured survey

      We survey the house on one datum: rooms, levels, boundaries, drains, trees and the neighbours' windows that the 45° and 25° tests depend on.

    3. Design options

      We model the house in Revit and show you options in 3D and plan, with the planning strategy and the precedents in your street.

    4. Design frozen

      You choose an option in writing. Nothing changes after this without your say.

    5. Independent check

      A second chartered technologist checks every sheet against the council's validation checklist and the policy. A senior review signs it off before anything is submitted.

    6. Submission

      We prepare the forms, certificates, fee and documents and submit through the Planning Portal.

    7. Officer liaison

      We answer the planning officer and make any amendments within five working days, at no charge until approval.

    8. Building regulations

      Technical drawings are coordinated with the structural engineer's calculations, the drainage and the planning conditions.

    9. Approval and hand-over

      Building control approval, then a next-steps pack covering the commencement notice, party wall timing and CIL.

    Free redraws until approval. Every drawing set is checked independently, and the checker is never the person who drew it.

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    Brick house being extended, with a wide new opening supported over the ground floor

    Garden room rules in Kensington and Chelsea

    We have not found a dimension in the borough's own guidance that replaces the national limits for outbuildings, so the national envelope is the starting line. What changes from street to street is how much of that envelope you are allowed to use. Here the answer is shaped by designations rather than by a garden-building policy.

    The council holds 39 conservation areas and has made 84 Article 4 directions. A garden in one of them may not enjoy the usual permitted development, and where it does, the side-of-house restriction still applies: On article 2(3) land, no outbuilding between a side wall and the boundary. We map your address against both layers on day one.

    Below-ground work is a separate matter. The borough's Basements SPD governs digging down, so we keep a garden room on a shallow slab and do not pair it with a sunken floor unless you want that as its own application.

    In practice that means two early questions: is the house listed, and does the garden sit inside an Article 4 area. Those two answers decide whether the project is a short certificate job or a full application, and they are free for us to find out before you commit.

    Finished white-rendered rear house extension with large glazed doors

    Local figures for Kensington and Chelsea

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Conservation areas39 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions84 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Tree preservation orders4,560 tree preservation orders published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries1,350 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Domestic gardens share of land (GLUD 2005)17.5 % of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005)2005data.london.gov.uk
    Households living in a house17 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Householder applications granted93.7 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    GPDO Sch 2 Pt 1 Class E, para E.1(e)Max 2.5 m if within 2 m of a boundary; otherwise 4 m dual-pitched roof or 3 m any other roof—legislation.gov.uk
    Class E, para E.3On article 2(3) land, no outbuilding between a side wall and the boundary—legislation.gov.uk
    Building Regulations 2010 Sch 2, Class 6 para 1Detached single-storey building up to 30 m², no sleeping accommodation, at least 1 m from the boundary or substantially non-combustible, is exempt—legislation.gov.uk

    A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.

    Councils bordering Kensington and Chelsea
    Single-storey rear extension: the permitted development limitsDepth beyond the original rear wall: 3 m (attached) / 4 m (detached) beyond the original rear wall, single storey. Maximum height: 4 m. Within the zone near the boundary: Eaves no higher than 3 m where within 2 m of the curtilage boundary. Larger extension under prior approval: 6 m (attached) / 8 m (detached), single storey, height max 4 m; not on article 2(3) land or an SSSIABCD

    Single-storey rear extension: the permitted development limits

    The house in section with a rear extension; the dashed lines mark the zone near the boundary.

    A · Depth beyond the original rear wall
    3 m (attached) / 4 m (detached) beyond the original rear wall, single storey
    B · Maximum height
    4 m
    C · Within the zone near the boundary
    Eaves no higher than 3 m where within 2 m of the curtilage boundary
    D · Larger extension under prior approval
    6 m (attached) / 8 m (detached), single storey, height max 4 m; not on article 2(3) land or an SSSI

    Small gardens, protected trees and listed neighbours

    Domestic gardens make up 17.5 per cent of the land in the borough, and many of them are narrow, walled and shaded. A room that works on paper can still sit under a canopy.

    The register lists 4,560 tree preservation orders. A protected tree near the build line changes the foundation, the position and sometimes the whole idea, so the site plan we draw shows root protection as well as boundaries.

    There are 1,350 listed building entries here. The rule is blunt: Garden buildings within the curtilage of a listed building are not permitted development. If your house is listed, the garden room becomes a planning and listed-building question, and our planning drawings in Kensington and Chelsea set carries it.

    Permitted development or an application

    Outside the listed curtilage the height test decides most schemes: Max 2.5 m if within 2 m of a boundary; otherwise 4 m dual-pitched roof or 3 m any other roof. A flat or low-pitched roof near the fence is usually what keeps a garden room within the order in tight plots.

    When a design cannot meet the order, a householder application is the route. Householder decisions in the borough were granted 93.7 per cent of the time across 664 decisions, which tells you applications are routine here, though each is judged on its own plans.

    If you only need proof that the room is lawful, a lawful development certificate in Kensington and Chelsea is the quicker document and one a buyer's solicitor can rely on.

    Building Regulations for a garden office

    Most garden offices here are small enough to avoid a building control application, provided nobody sleeps in them: Detached single-storey building up to 30 m², no sleeping accommodation, at least 1 m from the boundary or substantially non-combustible, is exempt.

    House prices in the borough are high, with terraced homes averaging £2,429,086. At that level lenders and surveyors look for paper on every outbuilding, so we issue the drawings in a form a conveyancer can keep on file. If the room is not exempt, our building regulations drawings in Kensington and Chelsea add the construction detail.

    Price and what you receive

    The fixed fee is £495, VAT included. For that you receive the site plan, floor plan, elevations, roof and floor section and a 3D view of the room against your boundary walls. Any council fee is separate and paid to the council.

    Our other work in the area is gathered on the architectural drawings in Kensington and Chelsea page, and the national rules are explained on the garden room drawings page.

    You send the address, the use and a rough size. We run the constraints check first, tell you whether the route is permitted development, a certificate or an application, and only then draw. Where the council asks for changes we redraw free until approval; we do not promise a decision, we draw to the rules above and deal with the case officer for you.

    What you receive

    Planning drawing sheet for a rear extension with plans, elevations and sections
    Sample drawing. Planning drawings for a rear extension: plans, elevations and sections on one sheet set.
    Two-storey rear extension under construction on a semi-detached house
    Every side considered
    Flick across the turntable to spin it.

    Other services in Kensington and Chelsea

    Garden room drawings nearby

    Questions

    Do I need permission for a garden room in Kensington and Chelsea?

    Often not, but the borough has many conservation areas and Article 4 directions, and a listed house removes permitted development for outbuildings. We check your address against those layers before quoting a route.

    Can I put a garden room under a protected tree?

    Only with care. With thousands of tree preservation orders in the borough, a protected tree near the footprint usually moves the room or changes its foundation, and works to the tree itself need consent.

    Does a garden room in a Kensington and Chelsea garden need Building Regulations?

    Not if it is a small detached building with no sleeping accommodation and it meets the distance or materials test. A bed in the room removes the exemption.

    Sources and dates

    City of London skyline glowing at dusk across the Thames under a dramatic orange sky

    Tell us about your property.

    We check the constraints, then send a fixed fee. Messages before 3pm get a reply the same working day.

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