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Hackney, London

Planning drawings in Hackney

Planning drawings for a Hackney home start at £745 including VAT. Only 18.8 per cent of Hackney households live in a house, and permitted development does not apply to flats, so many projects here go through a full application and the council's own extension guidance decides the design.

From £745 (VAT included)

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

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    Hackney's guidance for extensions and the drawings it needs

    Hackney's published guide for home alterations is the Residential extensions and alterations SPD, which supports the Hackney Local Plan 2033 (LP33). We read it before we draw and design the extension to its logic rather than arguing with it afterwards.

    A second document matters when a project touches energy performance. The council also issues the Retrofit SPD, which sets out how existing buildings can be upgraded. If your work includes insulation, new windows or a roof change, the drawings should show those measures clearly.

    Many Hackney homes are flats, so we establish early whether you own a freehold house, a flat in a converted house or a flat in a block. That one fact decides which rights exist and who must be notified.

    Our designers read both documents together with the site history, so the proposal arrives with a clear explanation of how it answers the guidance. That can save the officer a round of questions.

    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street

    Local figures for Hackney

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Supplementary planning documentResidential extensions and alterations SPD2025hackney.gov.uk
    Supplementary planning documentRetrofit SPD2025hackney.gov.uk
    Local planHackney Local Plan 2033 (LP33)—hackney.gov.uk
    Households living in a house18.8 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Conservation areas37 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions77 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 direction areas197 Article 4 direction area polygons published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries555 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Householder decisions415 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted84.6 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time91.3 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder: alterations/extensions to a single dwellinghouse, from 1 Apr 2026548 GBP—ribblevalley.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 Hackney
    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

    Flats, maisonettes and why the full route is common

    National permitted development for householders excludes flats and buildings that contain flats. In a borough where 18.8 per cent of households live in a house and 24.6 per cent own their home, that exclusion covers most addresses.

    A flat owner who wants a rear addition, a roof terrace or new windows normally needs a householder application, and often the consent of the freeholder too. We draw to the council's validation list and note where freeholder or lease consent is a separate step.

    If you are the freeholder of a whole converted building, the position is different again. You may be able to extend one flat and keep the others unchanged, or alter the building as a whole, and the drawings and the application form have to say clearly which.

    Conservation areas and Article 4 directions in Hackney

    The borough has 37 conservation areas and 77 Article 4 directions covering 197 mapped areas. Even a house can lose rights over windows, doors, roofs and boundary walls, so a similar-looking terrace next door may follow different rules.

    Historic England lists 555 entries here, and 40 appear on the Heritage at Risk Register. Where a property is listed, we add the heritage paperwork to the planning set. If the work is already done, our retrospective planning applications service can regularise it.

    We plot every direction that touches your address on the survey drawing, so the council map and our sheets agree. A direction you did not know about is far cheaper to find before the design is frozen.

    How Hackney decides householder cases

    Hackney decided 415 householder applications in its latest twelve months. It granted 84.6 per cent and decided 91.3 per cent within eight weeks or an agreed extension.

    The figures describe the past, not your application, and we do not use them as promises.

    These figures cover houses and flats together. A householder scheme on a flat is decided by the same team under the same policies, but it often needs extra documents, which we list at the quote stage.

    Our Hackney fee, checks and aftercare

    The fixed fee starts at £745 including VAT. The council's charge for a householder application is separate and currently £548. Every set is checked by a second MCIAT chartered technologist before submission, and we redraw at no charge if the officer requests changes.

    Once permission is in place, building regulations drawings in Hackney turn the design into technical detail, and our Lawful Development Certificate work covers schemes that stay within permitted limits.

    Drawings are ready about a week after the survey, and we handle the Planning Portal submission and the officer's questions as part of the service.

    Nearby boroughs and the wider service

    See the borough summary at architectural drawings in Hackney. The same planning service runs in neighbouring Islington, Haringey and Tower Hamlets, and the national rules sit at planning drawings.

    If you are comparing layouts first, our floor plans service can set them out before you commit to a planning scheme.

    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 Hackney

    Planning drawings nearby

    Questions

    Does a flat in Hackney have permitted development rights?

    No. Householder permitted development does not apply to flats or to buildings that contain flats, so most flat alterations need a planning application.

    What extension guidance does Hackney publish?

    The Residential extensions and alterations SPD is the main guide, read alongside the Hackney Local Plan 2033 (LP33). We draw to both.

    How many Article 4 directions does Hackney have?

    The council publishes 77 directions covering 197 mapped areas. We check your address against them.

    How much do planning drawings cost in Hackney?

    From £745 including VAT, fixed before you commit. The council's fee is paid to the council.

    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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