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Islington, London

Prior approval drawings in Islington

Prior approval drawings in Islington are rarely the right answer, and we say so plainly. The council granted 0 and refused 0 larger home extension notifications in the latest year of returns, only 16.3% of households live in a house, and 41 conservation areas close the route on the land they cover. When it does fit, we draw it. Fixed quote after a free constraints check.

Fixed quote after a free constraints check

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We use it to check conservation areas and constraints.
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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

    The returns show no larger home extension decisions at all

    Islington's latest government returns record 0 larger home extension prior approvals granted and 0 refused. In the same period the council granted 1 additional-storey notification and refused 0. For a borough of this size, that is an almost unused route.

    The absence is meaningful but not mysterious. The route needs a house outside every designation, and Islington is dense, flatted and heavily protected. An owner asking about prior approval here is usually one of very few for whom it is even possible, and our first job is to find out whether you are among them. The national limits are: 6 m (attached) / 8 m (detached), single storey, height max 4 m; not on article 2(3) land or an SSSI, with 42 days for a decision from a valid notification.

    Because no recent local decisions exist to point to, we do not quote a success rate. Each case would be judged on its own file.

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

    Local figures for Islington

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Larger home extension prior approvals granted0 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals refused0 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Upward home extension prior approvals granted1 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Conservation areas41 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries1,050 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Grade I listed entries12 list entries—planning.data.gov.uk
    Households living in a house16.3 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Owner-occupied households26.7 % of households owner-occupied (owned outright or with mortgage/loan)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Average price, terraced1,151,398 GBP2026-07publicdata.landregistry.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted92.6 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Lawful development certificate applications (PS1)141 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 Islington
    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

    Why so few Islington homes qualify

    Only 16.3% of Islington households live in a house, and 26.7% own their home. Flats and maisonettes have no larger home extension right at all, and a terrace that has been converted to flats loses the right even though it looks like a house.

    A terraced house that is still a single dwelling averaged £1,151,398 on the latest Land Registry figures and a semi £1,406,430. At that value the incentive to extend is high, which is why we spend time at the outset establishing whether the house is a dwellinghouse in law.

    Conservation areas and listed buildings

    The council publishes 41 conservation areas, and the borough has 1,050 listed building entries including 12 at Grade I. Land inside a conservation area is excluded from the larger home extension route, and work to a listed building needs consent whatever the planning route. For most Islington houses, one of those two facts ends the conversation.

    We overlay the council's published boundaries on the plot and give you the answer in writing as part of the free constraints check. If the route is closed, our planning drawings service covers the householder application, which in this borough is the usual path.

    What we prepare when the route is open

    For the rare qualifying house the Order requires: 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 neighbour's nearest window. The site plan is drawn as in our location and block plans service, because terrace plots are tight and an officer needs the boundary and the neighbouring outriggers drawn precisely.

    The council fee is £249, paid to the council, and our fee is fixed after the free check. A second chartered architectural technologist (MCIAT) reads the set, and amendments the council asks for are redrawn without a second charge.

    What Islington actually decides: householder applications

    The council decided 337 householder applications in its latest year, granted 92.6% of them and decided 98.8% in time. Those are the cases where most Islington owners end up, and the figures show an officer team that grants well-designed extensions promptly.

    Where an extension is small enough to be lawful without permission, a Lawful Development Certificate is the proof of choice; the council decided 141 of them in the same year, against no larger home extension notifications.

    Checking whether your house is a house in law

    The larger home extension right belongs to a dwellinghouse, and a building that looks like one may not be. If a Georgian terrace was converted to flats at some point, the individual flats have no such right, and the building as a whole may have lost it. The council's planning history for the address shows whether a conversion was ever approved or implemented.

    We search that history as part of the constraints check, together with building control records where available, and tell you what we found. The answer can go either way: a house assumed to be flats may be a single dwelling, and a house that has always been used as one may carry an old conversion permission that matters.

    What we advise when the answer is no

    Most Islington enquiries end here, and we would rather say so in the first conversation than after drawings. The usual next step is a householder application, with plans drawn to the council's design guidance. The survey we would have used for a notification serves that application too.

    Where the extension is small, a certificate may be enough. Where the house is listed, listed building consent is needed whatever else applies, which we also prepare. We will tell you which applies and quote only for the route you need.

    Neighbouring boroughs and next steps

    Hackney next door has a very different pattern: it decides a few notifications a year and grants almost all of them. Our Islington area page lists everything else we draw in the borough.

    If you are not sure whether your house qualifies, send the address through the form. The constraints check costs nothing, and an honest no is more useful to you than a drawing you cannot use.

    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 Islington

    Prior approval drawings nearby

    Questions

    Does Islington use prior approval for larger home extensions?

    The latest published returns show 0 granted and 0 refused, so it is very rarely used.

    Why is the route usually closed here?

    Only 16.3% of households live in a house, and the borough has 41 conservation areas, which are excluded.

    How long would the council have to decide?

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

    What is the council fee?

    £249, paid to the council. Our 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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