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Ealing, London

Planning appeals in Ealing

Planning appeals in Ealing start with the refusal notice. A refusal from Ealing Council usually names a particular failing in the scheme, because the borough granted 87.2 per cent of its householder applications. You have 12 weeks from the decision notice to appeal. We compare the reasons with the council's residential extensions guidance and prepare the plans and statement that answer them.

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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 planning appeals

    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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    Planning appeals in Ealing: what Ealing's decision record says about your refusal

    Ealing decided 946 householder applications, granted 87.2 per cent and decided 95.3 per cent in time. Minor applications ran to 821 decisions, with 80 per cent granted and 94.2 per cent decided in time. This is a fast, fairly permissive department, and that shapes how we read a refusal.

    When a council like this says no, the reason is seldom general dislike. It is more often a measured problem: a side extension that closes a gap, a rear depth that crosses a 45-degree line to a neighbour's window, or a roof form the officer thinks is out of character. Each of those can be tested against drawn evidence, which is why the first job is to find the exact sentence in the officer's report that carries the weight of the refusal.

    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street

    Local figures for Ealing

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Householder decisions946 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted87.2 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time95.3 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Minor application decisions821 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Minor applications granted80 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Minor applications decided in time94.2 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Households living in a house50.3 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Conservation areas31 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Domestic gardens share of land (GLUD 2005)25.6 % of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005)2005data.london.gov.uk
    Annex B, householder appeals (written representations), decisions in June 2026; 351 decisions11.6 weeks—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 Ealing
    Which application your project needsLawful Development Certificate decision: 8 weeks. Prior approval decision: 42 days. Householder decision: 8 weeksYour projectWithin permitted development?Lawful Development CertificatePrior approvalHouseholder applicationYesLarger rear extensionNoABC

    Which application your project needs

    The usual route for a house; flats and listed buildings follow other rules.

    A · Lawful Development Certificate decision
    8 weeks
    B · Prior approval decision
    42 days
    C · Householder decision
    8 weeks

    The guidance Ealing officers rely on

    Ealing's key document for house alterations is its SPD 4 - Residential extensions, read alongside the Ealing Local Plan: Development (or Core) Strategy DPD (2012), with Development Sites DPD and Development Management DPD (December 2013). The borough also has an Article 4 direction on houses in multiple occupation, which affects conversions of family homes into shared houses.

    We check how closely the refused scheme follows the SPD's own tests, and where it departs, whether the departure is justified by the site. A deep plot with generous gardens, as in much of Ealing where gardens occupy 25.6 per cent of the land, can support a design the SPD would not endorse on a tight terrace. An inspector will accept that argument if it is made with a scaled plan, not with adjectives.

    Ealing's suburban housing mix

    Around 50.3 per cent of Ealing households live in a house, and 46.2 per cent own their home. That mix of terraces, semis and flats produces a steady flow of loft, rear and side extensions, and of refused applications where the new work meets a neighbouring window or a shared boundary.

    The borough also has 31 conservation areas and 309 list entries. A refusal in one of those areas is a heritage case first. For houses outside them, the argument is about neighbours, bulk and materials, and that is where well-drawn elevations carry the most weight.

    Timing and alternatives

    For householder appeals decided on written representations the Inspectorate's median was 11.6 weeks in its latest figures, and 29 per cent of written-representation appeals were allowed in the latest quarter. These are national numbers for all kinds of site.

    If the refusal is about detail, a revised submission often reaches a decision sooner. If the work was lawful all along, the borough dealt with 754 lawful development certificate applications in the latest return, so a Lawful Development Certificate may close the matter. Work already built can be regularised through a retrospective planning application.

    Evidence an inspector can measure

    Inspectors decide on the papers and one site visit, so the drawings have to settle the questions in the refusal without anyone explaining them. We dimension the gap to each boundary, the depth beyond the neighbour's rear wall, the eaves and ridge heights, and the position of every neighbouring window the officer's report mentions. Where the dispute is about a 45-degree line, we draw it on the plan and the elevation so the test can be checked by eye.

    We also tie each photograph to a numbered viewpoint on the plan. A picture of a garden means little unless the inspector knows where it was taken from and what it shows. If neighbours objected, their points are answered in the statement on the same footing as the council's reasons, which shows the case has been weighed from both sides.

    How we prepare an Ealing appeal

    The bundle has a statement answering each reason in turn, sheets drawn from a single model so plans and elevations cannot disagree, and a shadow or outlook section where a neighbour's window is the issue. A reviewer who did not draft the set reads it against the notice.

    Our fee is fixed after the free constraints check. Read the overview of planning appeals, or see the full list on our page for architectural drawings in Ealing.

    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
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Other services in Ealing

    Planning appeals nearby

    Questions

    Which Ealing guidance applies to a house extension refusal?

    The council's SPD 4 - Residential extensions, read with whichever Ealing Local Plan: Development (or Core) Strategy DPD (2012), with Development Sites DPD and Development Management DPD (December 2013) policies the notice names.

    Is Ealing quick at deciding applications?

    It decided 95.3 per cent of householder cases in time, so a long silence is unusual. If it does happen, a non-determination appeal is a separate option.

    Can I appeal if my property is in a conservation area?

    Yes, the right to appeal is the same. The statement must address the area's significance, and the borough has 31 conservation areas to consider.

    What is the deadline for a householder appeal?

    12 weeks from the date of the decision notice.

    Sources and dates

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    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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