Planning consultant in Ealing

What Ealing's decisions look like

For householder applications the council granted 87.2 per cent of 946 decisions in the latest twelve months we hold, and 95.3 per cent were decided inside eight weeks or an agreed extension. Minor applications were granted at 80 per cent across 821 decisions, with 94.2 per cent in time.

The quick reading is that householder work is routine here and mostly granted, and the timetable is dependable. The less obvious reading is that routine work is judged against a checklist, so a scheme that reads as a copy of the last approved one on the street is received well, and a scheme that departs from it needs a reason in writing.

A large number of owners also use the certificate route. The council issued 754 certificates of lawfulness in the quarterly series, which tells you that many people check permitted development before building. That is a sensible habit, and a Lawful Development Certificate in Ealing is often the quickest way to settle the question.

Where a case does go wrong, it is usually for a reason that was visible from the start: a rear extension that is deeper than the neighbouring ones, a roof form that breaks the rhythm of the terrace, or a side extension that closes the gap to the boundary. We flag those risks in the first reply and, where it helps, propose a modest redesign before the application is made rather than after an objection arrives.

Constraints that shape an Ealing house project

Half of the borough's households, 50.3 per cent, live in houses, and 46.2 per cent own their home, so the typical enquiry is a semi-detached or terraced house wanting a rear or loft extension. Gardens account for 25.6 per cent of the land, which is why garden-room and rear-extension questions arise so often.

The map has constraints in places. Besides the 31 conservation areas and 309 listed entries, 6 per cent of the borough is green belt, and 18 Heritage at Risk entries sit within the boundary. Our free check places your address on all of these before we quote.

Developer contributions differ by location. The charging schedule gives £300/m² (Central Ealing); £150/m² (Rest of LPA). Mayoral CIL (MCIL2) £60/m² indexed additionally. For a home extension of modest size the levy is often not triggered, but we confirm that before design is fixed.

How we work on an Ealing brief

After the free check we recommend a route and a scope. For most houses that is drawings and a short statement through our planning drawings in Ealing service. Where neighbours might object, we add a design-and-access section that deals with their likely points. Where the council has refused before, we read the decision notice first.

An independent chartered technologist, never the person who drew the set, checks every package before it goes in. Officer amendments are turned round within five working days, and redrawing is free until approval. If light to a neighbour's window is a worry, we advise on a daylight and sunlight report in Ealing; for a basement, see the basement impact assessment in Ealing.

Before submission we also read the council's local validation list against the package. Because a council may only require local items from a list adopted within the last 2 years, we check the list's date as well as its content, and we raise any request that looks out of date with the council before it delays you.

Timing, fees and appeals

The statutory period for a non-major application is 8 weeks. The council's fee for a householder application is £548. If a decision goes against you, a householder appeal has a deadline of 12 weeks, so the notice should come to us promptly; the planning appeals service in Ealing takes it from there.

More on the borough is on our architectural drawings page for Ealing, and the general offer is described under planning consultant.