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Lambeth, London

New build drawings in Lambeth

Lambeth has 64 conservation areas and a levy that changes with the neighbourhood you build in. We are MCIAT chartered architectural technologists, and our new build drawings in Lambeth start at £1,450 including VAT, drawn around the borough's own design guide.

From £1,450 (VAT included)

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

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We use it to check conservation areas and constraints.
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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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    Red-brick mansion blocks and shopfronts on a street corner

    Lambeth's Design Guide and a new dwelling

    The council's Lambeth Design Guide SPD Part 2: Advice for All Development applies to every kind of development, new houses included, and sits beside the Lambeth Local Plan 2021. Together they are the documents an officer reads a new house against.

    For a new house the guide's tests become sheets in the set. A street elevation shows the building next to its neighbours at the same scale. A plan shows where the bins, the cycle store and the front threshold sit, so servicing is settled alongside appearance. A section shows the stair, the floor heights and the roof, so a reviewer can see how the building meets the neighbours' eaves.

    Where the plot is a gap in a Victorian or Georgian terrace, we survey the adjoining facades and show how the proposal continues or deliberately interrupts them. That decision is explained on the sheet rather than left implicit.

    The guide is long, and we do not ask you to read it. We extract the parts that apply to your plot, list them on the first drawing and show where each is met, so the reviewing officer can tick them off as they go. Where a requirement cannot be met in full, we say so and give the reason, with an alternative drawn beside it.

    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule

    Local figures for Lambeth

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Conservation areas64 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions12 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 direction areas223 Article 4 direction area polygons published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries953 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Tree preservation orders339 tree preservation orders published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Minor application decisions748 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Minor applications granted79.9 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Minor applications decided in time92.5 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted83.4 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Borough CIL residential rate£602/m² (Zone A Waterloo and Vauxhall Nine Elms); £422/m² (Zone B Kennington, Oval and Clapham); £301/m² (Zone C Brixton, Herne Hill and Tulse Hill); £241/m² (Zone D Streatham, Streatham Hill and West Norwood)indexed rate 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2026 (residential incl. co-living)lambeth.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
    Supplementary planning documentLambeth Design Guide SPD Part 2: Advice for All Development2023lambeth.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 Lambeth
    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

    Conservation, Article 4 and trees in Lambeth

    Alongside 64 conservation areas, the council has 12 Article 4 directions covering 223 mapped areas, 953 listed building entries and 339 tree preservation orders. We check an infill plot against each of them.

    Directions matter less to a brand new house than to an extension, because a new house needs permission whatever the rights say. Conservation areas and listed neighbours matter more, since they raise the bar on height, materials and the roof. We check each one at the outset and tell you plainly if the plot is likely to be difficult.

    If a basement is part of your thinking, the council has a dedicated section for it, Lambeth Design Guide SPD Part 5: Basements. That brings a separate technical submission, which we flag on the quote and do not fold into the drawings.

    Heritage and trees are both settled from the survey. We record the trees, the party walls, the levels and the neighbours' windows, then place the new building on that base. A survey done properly early costs far less than a redraw caused by a missed level.

    How Lambeth decides minor housing applications

    A single new house is a minor application. Lambeth decided 748 in the latest return, granted 79.9 per cent, and decided 92.5 per cent inside the timetable.

    The householder grant rate is 83.4 per cent, higher than the minor rate, so an extension is granted more often than a new building, and the new build has to be argued more fully.

    See our planning drawings page for householder work and our lawful development certificate page for confirming existing rights. A planning appeal is the route after a refusal.

    Lambeth's four CIL zones and the Mayor's band

    The borough charges by area: £602/m² (Zone A Waterloo and Vauxhall Nine Elms); £422/m² (Zone B Kennington, Oval and Clapham); £301/m² (Zone C Brixton, Herne Hill and Tulse Hill); £241/m² (Zone D Streatham, Streatham Hill and West Norwood). The plot's location, not the street's character, fixes your zone, and the difference between the highest and lowest is large.

    The Mayor charges band 2 as well, at £72.73 per square metre this year. Both are charged on gross internal area, which we calculate per floor on the drawings.

    With detached houses averaging £1,153,203 and terraced houses £796,865, a small scheme can still be viable even in the dearest zone, but the levy estimate needs to be part of the early design decisions rather than a surprise after permission.

    Self-build may bring relief. Self-build housing built or commissioned by and occupied by P as main residence can claim exemption. We mention it at the first call because the evidence needed starts on day one of the design, not at the end of it.

    What our new build drawings in Lambeth include

    Our fixed fee from £1,450 including VAT covers the surveyed site plan, plans, elevations, sections, roof plan and street scene, checked by a second chartered technologist. If the council asks for changes, redraws are free.

    Our building regulations drawings and structural calculations pages describe the stage after permission.

    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.
    Georgian brick terrace with sash windows, arched fanlight doorways, stone steps and iron railings in London
    Points, not guesses
    Paint across the grid with the pointer.

    Other services in Lambeth

    New build drawings nearby

    Questions

    Which Lambeth guidance applies to a new house?

    The Lambeth Design Guide SPD Part 2, with the Local Plan. We cite the relevant policy on the first sheet and show the tests on the drawings.

    How many conservation areas are in Lambeth?

    The council publishes 64, with 12 Article 4 directions. We check the address against both before quoting design work.

    What is the CIL for a new home in Lambeth?

    £602/m² (Zone A Waterloo and Vauxhall Nine Elms); £422/m² (Zone B Kennington, Oval and Clapham); £301/m² (Zone C Brixton, Herne Hill and Tulse Hill); £241/m² (Zone D Streatham, Streatham Hill and West Norwood), plus the Mayoral charge of £72.73 per square metre in band 2.

    How quickly does Lambeth decide minor applications?

    The latest return shows 92.5 per cent decided in time, from 748 decisions.

    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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