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Barking and Dagenham, London

Prior approval drawings in Barking and Dagenham

Prior approval drawings in Barking and Dagenham have to win a neighbour-impact check, not a design debate. In the latest national returns the council granted 10 larger home extension notifications and refused 36. We are MCIAT chartered architectural technologists and we draw the notification so the impact on next door is easy to read. Fixed quote after a free constraints check; the council fee is £249.

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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 prior approval drawings

    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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    Brick cottage with a tiled roof, chimneys and a front dormer window

    Prior approval drawings in Barking and Dagenham: the council's guidance

    The council sets out its view of home extensions in the Residential Extensions and Alterations SPD. A prior approval is a narrower test than a householder application, so the document does not decide the case, but it shows what the council treats as a fair relationship between neighbouring rear gardens. We read it before we draw a single line.

    The second document matters just as much in this borough: the Becontree Estate SPD and Design Code. Where a house sits within the area that design code covers, we read its guidance on rear additions as well, because on a close-built terrace an extension that looks modest on paper can still loom over the kitchen window next door.

    The local plan was adopted in 2,024, so its policies are recent. For prior approval the question is still the national one, which is the amenity of adjoining premises, and our drawings are built to answer it directly.

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

    Local figures for Barking and Dagenham

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Larger home extension prior approvals granted10 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals refused36 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Conservation areas4 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Householder decisions388 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted66.5 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Households living in a house68.8 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Domestic gardens share of land (GLUD 2005)22.8 % of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005)2005data.london.gov.uk
    Average price, terraced409,511 GBP2026-07publicdata.landregistry.gov.uk
    Local plan adopted2,024—lbbd.gov.uk
    Class A, para A.4(10)(c): development may begin if the LPA has not notified a decision within 42 days of receiving the information42 days—legislation.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 Barking and Dagenham
    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

    What the decision record says about larger extensions here

    The Department's planning returns separate larger home extension prior approvals from every other kind of application. Barking and Dagenham granted 10 and refused 36 in the period shown in the table. Refusals clearly outnumber grants, which is the opposite of what many owners expect from a route described as light-touch.

    Compare that with ordinary householder applications. The council decided 388 of them in the latest twelve months and granted 66.5 per cent, with 100 per cent decided in time. These are borough-wide past results, not a forecast for your address, and we never present them as one.

    The lesson we take is practical. When neighbours object and the officer cannot see a clean answer on the drawings, a notification is refused. A clear survey of the original rear wall and the neighbouring windows removes much of that doubt before the council has to ask.

    Houses, gardens and what stands on the land

    Around 68.8 per cent of households here live in a house or bungalow, so the larger home extension route is relevant to most owners, unlike in boroughs dominated by flats. Domestic gardens cover 22.8 per cent of the land in the Greater London land-use survey, which is why rear extensions are the usual project.

    Land designations are lighter than in inner London. The borough publishes 4 conservation areas, and the route is closed inside them, so we check the address against that list first. Green belt covers 14 per cent of the council area, mostly away from the older estates.

    Value points the same way. A terraced home averages £409,511 in the latest Land Registry figures and a semi-detached £494,567, so an extra bedroom or a bigger kitchen is a reasonable use of the plot you already own.

    How we draw the neighbour impact on a terrace

    We measure from the original rear wall, because the allowance is counted from the house as first built, not from a later addition. The survey also records the neighbouring eaves, the nearest habitable window on each side and the boundary treatment. The depth limits in the Order are 6 m (attached) / 8 m (detached), single storey, height max 4 m; not on article 2(3) land or an SSSI.

    The notification then carries the written description the Order demands, a site plan and the neighbours' addresses. Under the Order, the LPA notifies adjoining owners/occupiers, giving at least 21 days for representations. If the council has not decided within 42 days the work may begin. We advise getting written confirmation anyway.

    Where a slightly shallower scheme would avoid an objection, we show both versions side by side. A Lawful Development Certificate in Barking and Dagenham is the better route when the extension sits within ordinary permitted development, because it needs no neighbour consultation.

    Planning your build around the neighbour period

    Time is the cost owners underestimate. In this route the LPA notifies adjoining owners/occupiers, giving at least 21 days for representations, and the decision clock runs for 42 days from receipt of complete information. A submission missing a required item restarts the conversation, so we check completeness before anything is sent.

    Some clients prefer to hold the written decision in hand before they fix a start date with a builder. Keep the council payment of £249 separate in your budget from our fixed fee, and allow time after approval for the technical drawings that a builder and building control will need.

    When a full application is the safer route

    If the design needs more than the Order allows, or the house stands in one of the conservation areas, prior approval is not available. Houses of multiple occupation also face an Article 4 direction in the borough, so a scheme that adds bedrooms for shared living needs a different check altogether.

    In those cases our planning drawings in Barking and Dagenham take the extension through a householder application, where the council can weigh design as well as amenity. After approval, the technical sheets follow, and our architectural drawings in Barking and Dagenham page lists everything else we prepare locally.

    Owners across the boundary may also want to look at prior approval drawings in Redbridge or prior approval drawings in Havering, where the same national rules meet different local records.

    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.
    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Other services in Barking and Dagenham

    Prior approval drawings nearby

    Questions

    Does the council often refuse larger home extension notifications?

    In the latest returns it refused 36 and granted 10. That is past data for the borough and no guide to a single house, but it is why we draw the neighbour relationship carefully.

    What does the council charge for a larger home extension prior approval?

    The council fee is £249, paid to the council. Our own fee is fixed once the free constraints check is done.

    Can I use prior approval if my house is in a conservation area?

    No. The borough has 4 conservation areas and the larger extension route excludes article 2(3) land. We check the address first and name the open route if this one is closed.

    How long before I can start building?

    The development may begin if the council has not notified a decision within 42 days of receiving the information. No decision date can be promised, and written confirmation is better than silence.

    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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