Rear extension drawings in Redbridge

Drawing the 45-degree test properly

The test sounds simple and is easy to get wrong. The line starts at the centre of the neighbour's nearest habitable window, not the edge of the frame, and the height check uses the nearest ground-floor window. A set of drawings that omits either lets the officer draw the line instead.

We survey the neighbour's windows from your side as far as can be seen, mark both lines on the plan and elevation, and adjust the depth or roof until the scheme sits inside them. The check is in the drawing notes, so the officer sees the answer on the first page.

Permitted development and prior approval in Redbridge

National rules sit alongside the guide. A single-storey extension may be permitted development within: 3 m (attached) / 4 m (detached) beyond the original rear wall, single storey. A deeper one can use prior approval: 6 m (attached) / 8 m (detached), single storey, height max 4 m; not on article 2(3) land or an SSSI.

The guide's rule of thumb is not the same as the national limits, and the prior approval depths go beyond it, so a scheme can be lawful by that route and still be deeper than the council would accept in an application. That matters for neighbours and for resale. A Lawful Development Certificate in Redbridge confirms the lawful position in writing.

Green Belt, conservation areas and listed houses

About 34 per cent of Redbridge is covered by Green Belt designation. A house on that land is tested more strictly on size against the original building, so we establish the original footprint before the design starts.

Elsewhere, the borough has 16 conservation areas and Historic England lists 134 entries. Domestic gardens occupy about 27.4 per cent of the borough's land in the Greater London land-use survey.

How Redbridge decides householder applications

Redbridge decided 991 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 82.8 per cent. Some 94.7 per cent were decided on time. These borough-wide figures cover every kind of householder project and say nothing about one address.

Price, process and what you receive

Drawings start at £695, VAT included and fixed. The set has existing and proposed plans, elevations and sections, with a location plan and block plan. A second chartered technologist checks every sheet and we redraw free if the council asks for changes.

The borough charges a flat levy of £125.56/m² (flat rate, all uses, whole borough), but residential extensions can claim exemption if the claim is made before work begins. Our building regulations drawings in Redbridge follow once the design is settled.

How a Redbridge job runs

We start with a measured survey of the house and the garden, including the position of the neighbours' nearest habitable windows where they can be seen. That survey is what lets us draw the depth, height and 45-degree checks accurately instead of estimating them.

Next we show one or two layouts so you can compare light, cost and garden space before details are fixed. The chosen scheme is then drawn up, checked by a second technologist and issued to you for approval before anything goes to the council.

Related services and nearby boroughs

A side return extension in Redbridge or a double-storey extension follows different rules, and the architectural drawings in Redbridge page ties them together.

Next door, Waltham Forest, Newham and Barking and Dagenham use different guidance. The national rules are explained on our main rear extension drawings page.