Rear extension drawings in Hackney

Where Hackney houses sit among its flats

Only 18.8 per cent of Hackney's households live in a house or bungalow, so for most owners the question is whether they have a house at all. Flats and maisonettes do not have the national permitted development rights, and the work needs a full application.

If you own the freehold of a terrace or semi, you are in a small group, and the SPD's depth rules are written for you. Domestic gardens cover 18.5 per cent of the borough's land, which is why the plot rule carries so much weight.

Conservation areas and Article 4 in Hackney

The council publishes 37 conservation areas and 77 Article 4 directions, which it has mapped as 197 separate areas. Historic England lists 555 entries in the borough.

Where a direction applies, work that would be permitted elsewhere needs an application, and a listed house needs separate consent for rear alterations. We check your street first and tell you the effect before the design begins.

Prior approval and how Hackney decides

National rules allow 3 m (attached) / 4 m (detached) beyond the original rear wall, single storey as permitted development. In the latest twelve months of national statistics the council granted 15 larger home extension prior approvals and refused 1, a small sample that cannot predict your case.

Hackney decided 415 householder applications in its latest published year, granted 84.6 per cent and decided 91.3 per cent in eight weeks or an agreed extension.

Building regulations behind a Hackney extension

Once the design is agreed, the same drawings carry the energy and structure details. New walls, roofs and floors must meet limiting U-values: New elements in existing dwellings, limiting U-values W/(m²·K): roof 0.15, wall 0.18, floor 0.18, windows 1.4 (or WER Band B), doors 1.4. In a conservation area, where the rear wall may be brick you wish to keep visible, the choice of insulation build-up needs thought at design stage.

Glazing is capped as well: 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. A deep Hackney extension with a rooflight and a wide door set can reach that limit quickly, so we count the area on the plan before the planning submission is made.

Rear extension drawings for Hackney: the set and the fee

You receive existing and proposed plans, sections and elevations, plus location and block plans. The fee starts at £695 including VAT and is fixed up front. A second chartered technologist checks every sheet and we redraw free of charge if the council asks for changes. Hackney's own fee is £548, paid to it separately.

Other projects and neighbouring councils

A loft can follow the extension: see loft conversion drawings in Hackney. To widen the footprint, there are side return extension drawings in Hackney. The borough overview is architectural drawings in Hackney. Close to the border, compare Islington and Tower Hamlets.