020 7864 7245Request a fixed quote

Camden, London

M&E drawings in Camden

Most Camden households live in flats, many buildings are listed or in conservation areas, and the council has detailed guidance on overheating and basements. We draw M&E drawings for Camden properties that respect those rules: extract routes, circuits, alarms and plant positions on one set. Fixed quote after a free constraints check.

Fixed quote after a free constraints check

  • MCIAT chartered
  • £2m PI insured
  • LABC Partnered
  • Fixed fees, VAT included

Request a fixed quote

We use it to check conservation areas and constraints.
Pick the council that decides your application.
A few lines: what you want to build, and anything the council has already said.
Add photos or drawings

Drop files here or choose from your device

PDF, JPG, PNG, DWG · up to 10 files, 90 MB in total

    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 m&e drawings

    Four 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. Building regulations

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

    4. 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.

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

    Camden's overheating, water and drainage rules for M&E drawings in Camden

    Camden's energy and adaptation guidance is specific about overheating. Where a development is at risk, it asks for dynamic thermal modelling, TM49 DSY, and every new development must show that the cooling hierarchy was followed, with active cooling only where need is shown. For a loft or rear extension on a south-facing terrace, we plan ventilation and shading in that order.

    Water is a moving target. The adopted London-wide figure is 105 l/p/d (+ up to 5 l external), but Camden's emerging local plan, still in submission draft, proposes 110 l/p/d (draft CC9). We design fittings to the lower number so the drawing does not date.

    The local requirements list asks for an energy statement on new-build dwellings; 5+ dwellings or >500 sqm, and a sustainability statement on 5+ dwellings or 500 sqm. A single-house project sits below both, but converting a building into several flats can cross them.

    Basements bring the heaviest requirement. Camden asks for a drainage report on every new or extended basement, built around 1 in 100 yr 6 hr; greenfield (majors). If a pump or sump is proposed, the M&E sheet shows its electrical supply and alarm, and our basement impact assessment page explains the technical report that sits beside it.

    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule

    Local figures for Camden

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Overheating: where a development is at risk, dynamic thermal modelling is required in addition to SAP/SBEM, using CIBSE TM49 (2014) design summer years for London; all new development must submit a statement showing the cooling hierarchy was followed; active cooling only if need is demonstrated.dynamic thermal modelling, TM49 DSY—camden.gov.uk, Camden Planning Guidance: Energy efficiency and adaptation (January 2021), pp.50-51, paras 10.4-10.7 and key messages
    Water efficiency: emerging Camden Local Plan policy CC9 would require residential development to meet the Part G optional 110 litres per person per day (including 5 litres external) and rainwater harvesting in all new buildings. Submission draft, not adopted; London Plan SI 5 (105 l/p/d) is the adopted London-wide figure.110 l/p/d (draft CC9)—camden.gov.uk, Camden Local Plan 2026-2041 Chapter 8 (submission draft), p.332 (printed), Policy CC9
    London Plan Policy SI 5C(1): development proposals should, through planning conditions, limit mains water use to the Building Regulations optional requirement, 105 litres or less per head per day for residential development, excluding an allowance of up to 5 litres for external use. Applies in every London borough.105 l/p/d (+ up to 5 l external)—london.gov.uk, The London Plan 2021 (GLA, March 2021), p.356, Policy SI 5 part C(1)
    Energy Statement required for all new build dwellings and all development of five or more dwellings (including conversions or change of use) or more than 500 sqm GIA, showing the energy hierarchy applied; majors need a decentralised energy feasibility study.new-build dwellings; 5+ dwellings or >500 sqm—camden.gov.uk, Camden Local Area Requirements for Planning Applications 2025, p.23, 'Energy Statement'
    Sustainability Statement (including BREEAM): all schemes consider sustainable development principles in the DAS or a statement; required for 5 or more dwellings or 500 sqm or more additional floorspace (Local Plan CC2); BREEAM pre-assessment for non-domestic 500 sqm or more.5+ dwellings or 500 sqm—camden.gov.uk, Camden Local Area Requirements for Planning Applications 2025, p.29, 'Sustainability Statement (including BREEAM)'
    A Drainage Report is required for all new or extended basements (and vulnerable development in flood-risk areas): flood risk identification, existing run-off rates, greenfield run-off calculation, measures per the drainage hierarchy and proposed run-off rates. Major applications also need a SuDS strategy to greenfield rate, constraining runoff volume for a 1 in 100 year 6 hour event where feasible, with the Camden drainage pro forma.1 in 100 yr 6 hr; greenfield (majors)—camden.gov.uk, Camden Local Area Requirements for Planning Applications 2025, p.23 'Drainage Report'; p.34 'Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) Strategy'
    Listed building entries1,971 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Conservation areas40 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions21 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Households living in a house13.3 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Householder applications granted89.1 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.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 Camden
    Building regulations, layer by layerPart A: structure: Approved Document A: Structure, 2004 edition incorporating 2004, 2010 and 2013 amendments. Part B: fire safety: All dwellings: fire detection and alarm system minimum Grade D2 Category LD3 (BS 5839-6), mains-operated smoke alarms to BS EN 14604. Part L: insulation: New elements in existing dwellings, limiting U-values W/(m²·K): roof 0.15, wall 0.18, floor 0.18, windows 1.4 (or WER Band B), doors 1.4. Part K: stairs: 2.0 m clear headroom over stairs. Full plans application: Building control body must decide a full plans application within 5 weeks, or longer if agreed in writingPart A: structurePart B: fire safetyPart L: insulationPart K: stairsFull plans applicationABCDE

    Building regulations, layer by layer

    The Approved Documents that shape most house projects, from structure to the application itself.

    A · Part A: structure
    Approved Document A: Structure, 2004 edition incorporating 2004, 2010 and 2013 amendments
    B · Part B: fire safety
    All dwellings: fire detection and alarm system minimum Grade D2 Category LD3 (BS 5839-6), mains-operated smoke alarms to BS EN 14604
    C · Part L: insulation
    New elements in existing dwellings, limiting U-values W/(m²·K): roof 0.15, wall 0.18, floor 0.18, windows 1.4 (or WER Band B), doors 1.4
    D · Part K: stairs
    2.0 m clear headroom over stairs
    E · Full plans application
    Building control body must decide a full plans application within 5 weeks, or longer if agreed in writing

    Camden's housing mix and what it does to services routes

    Only 13.3 per cent of Camden households live in a house, so most of our Camden jobs are flats, maisonettes or the upper floors of a terrace. Services run in shared risers, behind party walls and above neighbours' ceilings. We record the position of the consumer unit, meter and any existing ducts in a short survey, because a layout that ignores them will not work on site.

    Where a kitchen sits at the centre of a deep plan, the extract cannot reach an outside wall without a long duct. A hood venting outside needs 30 l/s, whereas a recirculating hood is treated as having no hood and needs 60 l/s, so the choice has consequences for the rest of the system. We draw the option that suits the building and say why.

    Owner-occupiers are a minority here, at 29.7 per cent of households, so many clients are landlords or leaseholders who also need a licence to alter. We note the M&E changes in a form a freeholder can read.

    Listed buildings, conservation areas and external plant

    Camden records 1,971 listed building entries, 57 of them Grade I, and has 40 conservation areas. It also publishes 21 Article 4 directions. Internal M&E work in a listed building can still need consent if it cuts into historic fabric, so we show every penetration and every chase on the drawing.

    Outside, a flue, a heat-pump unit or a roof vent changes the look of a building and is where officers focus. Our architectural drawings in Camden page covers the elevation side of the same question.

    In its latest year Camden decided 394 householder applications and granted 89.1 per cent. Planning turns on the look of the building more than its services, but a supporting M&E set helps because building control and the planning officer see the same plant positions.

    What we issue for a Camden property

    We issue a power and lighting layout for each floor, a ventilation plan with duty figures, a consumer unit schematic and an alarm layout. Electrical safety rules shape the set: Part P notifiable work includes new circuit; consumer unit replacement; additions or alterations to circuits in a special location, and the electrician certifies it within 30 days.

    Before drawing, we look for the three things that most often change a Camden layout: where the soil stack and any ventilation riser are, whether a party wall or a protected ceiling is in the way, and whether the freeholder already holds plant drawings. A short list of those findings goes at the front of the set so everyone sees the same assumptions.

    The set joins our building regulations drawings and, for wider heating and water design, our MEP design service.

    Tell us the address and what is changing. We run a free constraints check and give a fixed quote.

    What you receive

    Building regulations section drawing showing the construction build-up
    Sample drawing. Building regulations section showing construction build-up for a building control check.
    Two-storey rear extension under construction on a semi-detached house
    Every layer specified
    Move across to open the layers; move down to pick one.

    Other services in Camden

    M&E drawings nearby

    Questions

    Does Camden require overheating modelling for a small extension?

    Only where a development is at risk. We read the council's guidance against your project and tell you before you commit whether modelling is likely.

    Can M&E work in a Camden flat need landlord consent?

    Often yes, because it can touch shared walls, risers and ceilings. We draw the changes clearly so a freeholder can review them.

    How much do M&E drawings cost in Camden?

    Fixed quote after a free constraints check, based on the rooms and systems involved.

    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.

    Request a fixed quoteCall 020 7864 7245WhatsApp