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Havering, London

Prior approval drawings in Havering

Prior approval drawings for a Havering house are the plans and elevations behind a larger home extension notification, and in this borough the house is usually a suburban semi with a long garden. Havering granted 21 notifications and refused 27 in the latest year of returns, and 53% of the borough is Green Belt. Fixed quote after a free constraints check.

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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

    Havering's notification record, and what it implies

    The latest government returns show 21 larger home extension prior approvals granted and 27 refused in Havering. Refusals slightly outnumber consents, so a notification here is a genuine test and not a formality, though the volume is moderate.

    The national limits we draw to are: 6 m (attached) / 8 m (detached), single storey, height max 4 m; not on article 2(3) land or an SSSI. The council has 42 days from a valid notification. For a roof-raising scheme we plan on the basis that a full application is needed.

    A near-even split is useful information for a client deciding how close to the limit to go. It suggests officers will grant a well-drawn notification and refuse one that overreaches, which is how we advise: design to the neighbour relationship, not to the maximum number.

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

    Local figures for Havering

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Larger home extension prior approvals granted21 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals refused27 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Green Belt share of the council area53 % of council area covered by green-belt polygons—planning.data.gov.uk
    Conservation areas11 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries146 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Households living in a house76.7 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Owner-occupied households69.5 % of households owner-occupied (owned outright or with mortgage/loan)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Domestic gardens share of land (GLUD 2005)19.5 % of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005)2005data.london.gov.uk
    Average price, semi-detached540,897 GBP2026-07publicdata.landregistry.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted85.9 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Lawful development certificate applications (PS1)578 certificates2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Class A, para A.1(g)6 m (attached) / 8 m (detached), single storey, height max 4 m; not on article 2(3) land or an SSSI—legislation.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
    Prior approval: Larger Home Extensions Part 1 Class A; Additional storeys Part 1 Class AA249 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 Havering
    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

    A borough of semis, owners and big gardens

    76.7% of Havering households live in a house and 69.5% own their home. Domestic gardens cover about 19.5% of the borough's land in the national land-use dataset. Houses with long rear gardens are exactly what the larger home extension rights were written for.

    A semi-detached house averaged £540,897 on the latest Land Registry figures and a terrace £435,382. Extra floor area often adds more value than it costs, and many owners prefer to extend than to move.

    Green Belt, conservation areas and listed buildings

    More than half the borough, 53%, is Green Belt. Prior approval for a larger home extension does not apply a Green Belt test, which is part of the route's appeal in the east and north of the borough, but a refusal sends you to a householder application where openness is weighed against the proposal.

    Havering has 11 conservation areas and 146 listed building entries. Land in a conservation area is excluded from the route. Our free constraints check overlays the council's published boundaries on your plot and reports the result before any fee is paid. Where the route is closed we point you to our planning drawings service.

    What we draw

    The Order asks for: Written description (depth beyond rear wall, max height, eaves height), site plan, addresses of adjoining premises, developer contact address. We prepare that and add scaled plans, a rear elevation and a section through the nearest neighbour's window. A site plan in the style of our location and block plans shows the original rear wall, the proposed depth and the neighbouring extensions.

    A Havering semi may already have a rear addition such as a conservatory or a lean-to. The allowance is measured from the original rear wall, so any later addition counts towards the depth, and our survey separates what was built originally from what was added. Where the original house was later extended to the side as well as the rear, we draw both, because the Order's limits apply to the rear projection and a side addition can still change what the neighbour sees. The council fee is £249, paid to the council; our fee is fixed after the free check.

    How Havering handles ordinary applications

    The council decided 985 householder applications in its latest year and granted 85.9% of them, with 97.8% decided on time. Those figures are strong, and they make a householder application a sensible alternative whenever a notification looks risky.

    If the extension fits ordinary permitted development, a Lawful Development Certificate is the firmer proof; Havering decided 578 of them in the same year. Neighbouring Barking and Dagenham and Redbridge apply the same Order, and our Havering area page lists every service we offer here.

    Extending without losing the garden

    A deep extension in Havering takes space from the garden, and the garden is much of why people live here. We show every client the plan with the garden that remains, not only the extension itself, and mark where the usable lawn, patio and any outbuilding end up. It costs nothing to look.

    The same sheet helps the officer. A notification whose drawings also show a sensible rest-of-plot reads as a considered proposal. One that fills the back of the house to the maximum with nothing drawn beyond it reads as an exercise in using the allowance, and gives the officer less reason to be generous.

    Where we start on a Havering plot

    We start at the back of the house with a tape and a level. The depth of the original rear wall, the position of each window on the boundary side and the fall of the ground towards the fence are recorded before a line is drawn. In a borough with generous plots the temptation is to assume there is room, and a survey is what shows whether the neighbour has taken some of it first.

    The design then goes to you as options when the neighbour test is close, and as a single scheme when it is not. A second technologist checks the final set against the Order's list, and we submit, track the neighbour period and answer the officer, with amendments made without a second charge.

    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 Havering

    Prior approval drawings nearby

    Questions

    Does Green Belt stop prior approval in Havering?

    Not directly, although 53% of the borough is Green Belt. A refusal would lead to an application where openness counts.

    How many larger home extensions does Havering grant?

    21 granted and 27 refused in the latest published year.

    How long does the council have?

    42 days from a valid notification. We cannot promise a decision date.

    What does the council charge?

    £249, paid to the council. Our own fee is fixed after the free check.

    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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