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Hillingdon, London

Planning drawings in Hillingdon

Planning drawings for a Hillingdon house start at £745 including VAT. Hillingdon's development management policy is specific about the front of a house: the rule is to keep 25% front garden, and it shapes porches, driveways and any extension that faces the road.

From £745 (VAT included)

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

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    Rear view of brick terraced houses in London with slate roofs and chimney stacks along the shared roofline

    Hillingdon's front extension rule in planning drawings

    The householder policy in the council's Local Plan Part 2 says that front extensions must be minor, that a full-width front extension will be refused, and that at least a quarter of the front garden must be kept. The shorthand we use on the drawings is the council's own figure: 25% front garden.

    That test changes how we draw a house. A new porch or front extension is measured against the front garden as it is today, and the sheet shows the area retained as a figure, so the officer can check the rule without picking up a scale rule. We design the front first and work backwards from what must stay green.

    The same policy covers the rest of a householder scheme, including side and rear additions. The other parts of the plan are read alongside it, which is why we draw dimensions to each boundary instead of leaving them implied.

    Existing paving matters here too. We show the existing green area, the proposed paving and the remainder as a small table on the block plan, so the numbers are clear before anything is built.

    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule

    Local figures for Hillingdon

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Front extensions must be minor; full-width front extensions will be refused, and at least 25% of the front garden must be retained.25% front garden—hillingdon.gov.uk, Local Plan Part 2 DM Policies 2020, p.131-132, Policy DMHD 1 D
    Article 4 directions150 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Green Belt share of the council area42 % of council area covered by green-belt polygons—planning.data.gov.uk
    Tree preservation orders731 tree preservation orders published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Conservation areas33 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries436 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Heritage at Risk entries45 Heritage at Risk Register entries within the LPA boundary (Historic England)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Householder decisions1,147 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted90.2 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time94.3 % 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 Hillingdon
    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

    Article 4 directions and the Green Belt in Hillingdon

    Hillingdon publishes 150 Article 4 directions, and green belt covers 42 per cent of the borough. The first can remove a right that you assumed you had, and the second changes the test for any extension from the street to the original building.

    Trees add another constraint. The council records 731 tree preservation orders, and a protected tree in your garden or next door can limit where foundations and a new wall can go. We plot trees on the survey so the design stays clear of root zones from the start.

    Green belt and a protected tree can sit on the same plot. When they do, we combine both constraints on one constraints plan and let you see what is left to build on before you spend on design.

    Conservation and listed buildings

    There are 33 conservation areas and 436 listed entries in the borough, with 45 entries on the Heritage at Risk Register. A listed house needs listed building consent for most changes, in addition to or instead of planning permission.

    If you are not sure whether an outbuilding, wall or gate is covered by a listing, tell us at the first call. The check is quick and avoids a mistake that costs far more than the drawings.

    Permitted development, certificate or application

    A rear extension that fits permitted limits and sits outside any Article 4 direction can be confirmed with a Lawful Development Certificate in Hillingdon. Anything that goes beyond those limits, or is in a restricted area, needs a householder application, with a council fee of £548.

    Turning a family house into a shared house also needs consent here, because an Article 4 direction covers houses in multiple occupation. Our HMO conversion drawings in Hillingdon are prepared for that application.

    Our process is short. You send the address and a brief, we run the constraints check and quote a fixed fee, a measured survey follows, and you choose between options in writing before the design is frozen. The finished set normally follows the survey by about a week.

    How Hillingdon decides householder cases

    Hillingdon decided 1,147 householder applications in its latest twelve months. It granted 90.2 per cent and decided 94.3 per cent in time.

    These borough figures do not predict your result, and we do not use them as a promise. They tell you that a well-prepared householder application is routine work for the planning team here.

    A grant rate that high is reassuring, but a busy planning team also returns weak applications quickly. We therefore check each set against the council's validation list, with the location plan, scale, north point and ownership certificate all in order.

    Fee, checking and neighbouring boroughs

    Our fee starts at £745, VAT included, fixed before you commit. A second chartered technologist checks every sheet, and we redraw at no charge until approval if changes are asked for. See architectural drawings in Hillingdon for the borough summary and planning drawings for the national rules.

    We also draw in neighbouring Hounslow, Harrow and Three Rivers.

    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 Hillingdon

    Planning drawings nearby

    Questions

    How much of my front garden must I keep in Hillingdon?

    The council's householder policy asks you to keep 25% front garden, and full-width front extensions will be refused.

    How many Article 4 directions does Hillingdon have?

    The council publishes 150. We check your address against them before design work.

    Do tree preservation orders affect my plans?

    They can. Hillingdon records 731 orders, and a protected tree can limit foundations and extensions. We plot trees on the survey.

    How much do planning drawings cost in Hillingdon?

    From £745 including VAT, fixed up front. The council's fee is paid separately.

    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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