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Hillingdon, London

New build drawings in Hillingdon

A new house in Hillingdon is drawn around one number before any other: 21 metres between facing habitable-room windows, from the council's Local Plan Part 2. We are MCIAT chartered architectural technologists and prepare new build drawings in Hillingdon from £1,450 including VAT, after a free check of your plot.

From £1,450 (VAT included)

  • MCIAT chartered
  • £2m PI insured
  • LABC Partnered
  • 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 new build drawings

    Seven 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.

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

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    Rear view of brick terraced houses in London with slate roofs and chimney stacks along the shared roofline

    Hillingdon's separation rule for a new dwelling

    Local Plan Part 2 asks for a minimum of 21 metres between the habitable-room windows of one home and those of another that faces it, so that people are not overlooked in their own living rooms. It sits in the Development Management Policies document adopted under that plan.

    On a plot carved from a large suburban garden this figure decides the whole layout. A house that fits the width of the land can still fail if its rear bedroom windows look straight into the back of an existing home at a shorter distance. We measure from the surveyed face of each neighbouring building, not from the fence, and mark the distance on the site plan where the officer will look first.

    When the distance cannot be reached honestly, the design has options that do not involve arguing: turn the principal rooms to the garden, move bedroom windows to a flank with obscured glazing where the room has another outlook, or step the upper floor back. Each one is drawn as a tested alternative before the application goes in, so the officer is reading a considered scheme rather than a compromise.

    Red-brick mansion blocks and shopfronts on a street corner

    Local figures for Hillingdon

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    A minimum of 21 metres separation between windows of habitable rooms is required to protect privacy.21 metres—hillingdon.gov.uk, Local Plan Part 2 DM Policies 2020, p.48, para 5.38
    Minor application decisions367 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Minor applications granted68.7 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Minor applications decided in time89.4 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted90.2 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Green Belt share of the council area42 % of council area covered by green-belt polygons—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions150 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Conservation areas33 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Tree preservation orders731 tree preservation orders published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Mayoral CIL charging band2 MCIL2 charging band (1-3)—london.gov.uk
    Mayoral CIL rate (indexed)72.73 £/m² (indexed, permissions granted in 2026)—london.gov.uk
    Borough CIL residential rate£160.43/m² (Residential dwelling houses C3, borough-wide)2026 indexed rate as printed; schedule rate £95/m² (index 237 to 400)pre.hillingdon.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 Hillingdon
    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

    How Hillingdon decides smaller housing schemes

    One new house or a short terrace is a minor application, and the borough's recent record gives a realistic picture of what to expect. It decided 367 minor applications in the latest return, granted 68.7 per cent of them and decided 89.4 per cent inside the statutory 8 weeks or an agreed extension.

    That grant rate is well below the borough's householder figure, which is 90.2 per cent. The gap is the reason a new dwelling needs a firmer submission than an extension: a larger share of these applications is refused, so privacy, garden size and the street frontage all need to be shown, not asserted.

    Our planning drawings page covers the householder side of the borough. For a new home, the application carries the full set plus a design and access statement, and we write the drawings so the statement can point at them rather than describe them.

    Green Belt, constraints and the plot

    Green Belt polygons cover 42 per cent of the borough, and any plot inside it meets the strictest national tests. Whether your plot is inside, on the edge or outside is the first thing we confirm, because a new house in the Green Belt is a different conversation from one on a Ruislip or Hayes street.

    The council also publishes 150 Article 4 directions and 33 conservation areas, and it holds 731 tree preservation orders. Directions matter less for a new build than for an extension, since a new house needs permission anyway, but a protected tree in a back garden can still push a footprint sideways or force a root-protection plan.

    A site survey comes first. Our measured building survey and topographical survey pages explain how levels, trees and boundaries are recorded so that the drawings are built on measured facts.

    Charges that follow a new home in Hillingdon

    A new dwelling is liable for the Mayor's levy as well as the borough's. Hillingdon sits in Mayoral CIL band 2, and the indexed figure for permissions granted this year is £72.73 per square metre. The borough's own rate is £160.43/m² (Residential dwelling houses C3, borough-wide).

    Both are charged on new floorspace, so the gross internal area we calculate on the drawings feeds directly into a bill. We measure it the way the levy regulations do and show the figure on a sheet, which lets you budget before a charging notice arrives.

    The planning fee is separate again, and so are the Building Regulations stage and the engineer. Our building regulations drawings and structural calculations pages set out the next steps once permission is in hand.

    What our new build drawings in Hillingdon include

    Our fixed fee starts at £1,450 including VAT and covers the survey-based site plan, floor plans, elevations, sections, roof plan and the document set the council validates. A second chartered technologist checks every sheet before issue, and if the council asks for redraws we make them without charging again.

    The drawings come from a single 3D model, which is how the separation distance, the floor areas and the elevations stay in agreement while the scheme changes. You see the building in three dimensions before anything is submitted.

    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.
    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule
    Points, not guesses
    Paint across the grid with the pointer.

    Other services in Hillingdon

    New build drawings nearby

    Questions

    What window distance does Hillingdon expect for a new house?

    The council's Local Plan Part 2 sets a minimum of 21 metres between facing habitable-room windows. We show the measured distance to each neighbour on the site plan so it can be checked without a scale rule.

    Is a new house in Hillingdon harder to get through planning than an extension?

    The record says so. Minor housing applications were granted at 68.7 per cent, against 90.2 per cent for householder schemes, which is why a new dwelling needs fuller drawings and a clearer statement.

    How much community infrastructure levy will a new home pay?

    There are two charges. The Mayoral levy is £72.73 per square metre this year in band 2, and the borough rate is £160.43/m² (Residential dwelling houses C3, borough-wide). Relief for self-build is possible, and we flag it early.

    Do you check whether the plot is in the Green Belt?

    Yes, as part of the free plot check. About 42 per cent of Hillingdon is covered by Green Belt polygons, and the answer for your address changes the route and the shape of the design.

    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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