House extension drawings in Tower Hamlets

Heritage, Article 4 directions and trees

Tower Hamlets has 59 conservation areas and publishes 64 Article 4 directions, mapped as 63 areas. Historic England records 916 list entries in the borough, and 2 World Heritage Sites intersect its boundary. Where an Article 4 direction applies, work that is permitted development elsewhere needs an application.

The council also publishes 72 tree preservation orders. A protected tree on or next to your plot can limit where an extension goes, so we look for them at survey stage.

None of this is a reason to stop. It is a reason to confirm the address before you spend on design, and we do that check first.

Small gardens, small plots

Domestic gardens cover only about 7.4 per cent of the borough's land in the national land-use data. Gardens are a small share of the land, so rear space is scarce.

On a short plot every few centimetres of depth takes light from the neighbour, which is why a design that stays inside the permitted development limits is often the better first option: 3 m (attached) / 4 m (detached) beyond the original rear wall, single storey. That route applies only where the house still holds its rights.

Prior approval and planning permission

A deeper single-storey extension can use the larger home extension route, set at 6 m (attached) / 8 m (detached), single storey, height max 4 m; not on article 2(3) land or an SSSI. Tower Hamlets granted 3 and refused 4 of these in its latest published year, a small sample.

Where the rights are gone or the design goes further, the extension goes through householder permission, drawn as in our planning drawings in Tower Hamlets. Where the rights do survive, a Lawful Development Certificate in Tower Hamlets puts it in writing.

How Tower Hamlets decides householder applications

The council decided 191 householder applications in its latest published year. It granted 92.7 per cent and decided 95.8 per cent within eight weeks or an agreed extension. The sample is small and covers every householder project, so we treat it as context only.

What you receive and what it costs

A Tower Hamlets extension set has existing and proposed plans, elevations, a section through the new work and the location and block plans, with the neighbours' windows and boundaries drawn in. It starts at £695 with VAT included. A second chartered technologist checks every sheet before it goes in, and we redraw at no charge if the council asks for changes.

The structure, insulation and fire detail follow in our building regulations drawings in Tower Hamlets. If a party wall is involved, remember that 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.

Other services and nearby councils

For the whole borough, see architectural drawings in Tower Hamlets. A roof project may suit loft conversion drawings in Tower Hamlets better. Next door, compare house extension drawings in Hackney, in Newham and in Southwark.