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Richmond upon Thames, London

Planning consultant in Richmond upon Thames

Richmond upon Thames has 85 conservation areas and 819 listed entries. If your house sits in or beside any of it, the planning argument matters as much as the drawing. We act as planning consultant for Richmond homes on a fixed quote after a free constraints check, with MCIAT chartered architectural technologists drawing the scheme.

Fixed quote after a free constraints check

  • 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 planning consultant

    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

    What Richmond expects: the plan and the extension guidance

    The borough works to the Richmond Local Plan 2024-2039, adopted in 2,025, so its policies are recent. Three supplementary documents sit beneath it. For a householder scheme the key one is the House Extensions and External Alterations SPD, backed by the Design Quality SPD and the Residential Development Standards SPD.

    A consultant uses these documents to decide the design envelope before drawing starts, then writes the statement to answer them in the order an officer reads them. In a borough with a fresh plan, quoting the right policy from the right document is part of how an application earns confidence.

    The council data we hold shows no Article 4 direction for houses in multiple occupation in Richmond, so a small shared-house change of use is not caught by one.

    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule

    Local figures for Richmond upon Thames

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Conservation areas85 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries819 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Heritage at Risk entries17 Heritage at Risk Register entries within the LPA boundary (Historic England)—planning.data.gov.uk
    worldHeritageSites1 World Heritage Sites intersecting the LPA boundary—planning.data.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted83.3 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time98.3 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Minor applications granted75.3 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Green Belt share of the council area2 % of council area covered by green-belt polygons—planning.data.gov.uk
    Domestic gardens share of land (GLUD 2005)19.4 % of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005)2005data.london.gov.uk
    Borough CIL residential rate£418.41/m² (Residential Higher Band); £317.99/m² (Residential Lower Band)indexed rate for 2026richmond.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 Richmond upon Thames
    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

    Heritage is the first filter

    Historic England records 17 Heritage at Risk entries here, and the borough contains 1 World Heritage Site. A World Heritage Site brings a buffer zone and protected views, and neither appears on an ordinary property search.

    With so many designated areas, the first question for a Richmond address is whether it is in one, and which one. The answer decides whether permitted development rights apply in full, whether a heritage statement is needed, and whether trees on the plot add a separate approval.

    The free check we run reads those layers for your exact address. It often saves a client from commissioning a scheme that the designation would have forced into redesign.

    Numbers that show how Richmond decides

    In the latest twelve months the council decided 1,302 householder applications, granted 83.3 per cent, and met its deadline on 98.3 per cent. That speed is high, so a submitted scheme tends to be judged without delay.

    Minor schemes behave differently. From 324 minor decisions, 75.3 per cent were granted and 94.8 per cent were decided in time. Splitting a plot, building a new house or converting flats puts you in that group.

    Only a small share of the borough is green belt, around 2 per cent, so the more common constraint is heritage. Domestic gardens covered 19.4 per cent of the land in the last national land-use survey, and garden-heavy streets lead officers to look hard at backland and rear-garden proposals.

    Planning consultant in Richmond upon Thames: from address to submission

    We start with the address and nothing else. You then get the designations, the planning history on the site and on the two neighbours either side, and a plain view on whether the job is a drawing exercise or needs argued advice.

    If it needs advice, we write a short scoping note: the route, the two or three policies that decide the outcome, and the evidence that will be needed, whether that is a heritage statement, a tree survey or a daylight check on the neighbours. You see the costs of each before agreeing to any.

    Once you instruct us, the drawings and statement are prepared together from one set of measurements, checked by a second chartered technologist, and submitted with the fee. We then handle the officer, answer consultee comments and report back in plain English at each stage.

    Levy and fee costs to plan around

    The borough levy has two residential bands: £418.41/m² (Residential Higher Band); £317.99/m² (Residential Lower Band). The Mayoral levy adds 96.97 pounds per square metre in band 1 once indexed. Householder extensions are normally relieved, but new dwellings and large additions that create fresh homes are not.

    The council fee for a householder application is £548. We confirm the exact fee and the local validation list before you pay, so nothing is rejected on a technicality.

    When the heritage case needs to be shown on paper, our planning drawings in Richmond upon Thames and lawful development certificate service cover the next step.

    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.
    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Other services in Richmond upon Thames

    Planning consultant nearby

    Questions

    Do I need a planning consultant for a house extension in Richmond upon Thames?

    Not always. A modest rear extension with no designation is mostly a drawing job. If the house is in one of the 85 conservation areas, a consultant helps argue the heritage case.

    How many conservation areas does Richmond upon Thames have?

    The council publishes 85 conservation areas, and Historic England lists 819 entries inside the borough.

    What share of Richmond householder applications are granted?

    The council granted 83.3 per cent of 1,302 householder decisions in the latest twelve months. We make no promise about any single scheme.

    What does a Richmond planning consultant cost?

    A fixed quote after a free check of your address. The council application fee for a householder scheme is separate, at £548.

    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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