Rear extension drawings in Camden

A borough of flats, with a few houses

Houses are only 13.3 per cent of Camden households, and 29.7 per cent of households own their home. Flats have no permitted development rights for extensions, so the owners who can extend are a minority, and the whole-house terrace is where most schemes arise. A terraced house averages £1,554,868, which is why owners here scrutinise every square metre.

Domestic gardens make up just 19.1 per cent of the land, and officers notice when an extension takes more of one than it needs.

Heritage, Article 4 and listed buildings

The council publishes 40 conservation areas and 21 Article 4 directions, and Historic England lists 1,971 entries in the borough, a very large number. A listed house needs its own consent for work to the rear. In a conservation area, the officer cares about the rear elevation as seen from neighbouring gardens as well as from the street.

This is a reason to check the address before choosing a route, which we do as the first step, not a reason to give up.

Prior approval and planning routes in Camden

A single-storey extension may reach 3 m (attached) / 4 m (detached) beyond the original rear wall, single storey under national rules and further under prior approval, where 6 m (attached) / 8 m (detached), single storey, height max 4 m; not on article 2(3) land or an SSSI. In the latest national statistics Camden granted 2 larger home extension prior approvals and refused 0, which says that route is rarely used in a borough of flats.

A householder application is therefore the likely route. If you are unsure whether your house can use national rights, house extension drawings in Camden show the options side by side before you commit to a design.

Decisions and appeals on Camden householder cases

Camden decided 394 householder applications in its latest published year and granted 89.1 per cent, but only 77.7 per cent were decided in time, so build some slack into the programme. The Planning Inspectorate decided 76 householder appeals and allowed 35.5 per cent.

These are borough-wide numbers. We use them to set timing, not to forecast a decision.

Party walls and building regulations in a terrace

Camden's close-built terraces put the neighbour near the new wall. For deep foundations, the Party Wall Act says: Adjacent excavation notice at least 1 month before work: within 3 m and deeper than the neighbour's foundations, or within 6 m and cutting a 45° line from their foundations. We prepare the drawings so the notices and the planning set agree.

Building control then looks at the glass: Windows, roof windows, rooflights and doors in an extension should not exceed 25% of the extension floor area plus the area of openings removed or covered. Roof lanterns over a deep kitchen count towards that figure, so we size them on the drawings rather than leaving it to site.

What you receive and what it costs

You receive existing and proposed plans, sections and elevations with the angle tests marked, plus a location plan and block plan. The fee starts at £695 including VAT, fixed before you commit. A second chartered technologist checks each sheet, and we redraw free of charge if the council asks for changes before a decision. The householder fee to Camden is £548.

Linked projects and neighbouring councils

The back of the house is often part of a bigger plan. A roof alongside is covered by loft conversion drawings in Camden, and a wider footprint by side return extension drawings in Camden. The borough overview is at architectural drawings in Camden. Near the boundary, compare Islington and Barnet.