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Ealing, London

Retrospective planning applications in Ealing

Ealing has a published guide to residential extensions, and a retrospective application is measured against it line by line. The council can grant permission after the work is built. We survey your house, draw it as it stands and show how it sits against the guide. 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 retrospective planning applications

    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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    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule

    Ealing extension guidance and how it reads on built work

    The most useful rule in the borough is SPD 4 - Residential extensions. We found no separate retrospective rule, so the council applies this guide, together with the Ealing Local Plan: Development (or Core) Strategy DPD (2012), with Development Sites DPD and Development Management DPD (December 2013), to an extension already built exactly as it would to a drawing.

    Ealing's terraces and suburban semis have recognisable building lines, and officers look at how an extension sits against the neighbouring houses. A section drawn through the extension and the neighbour's side shows the relationship at a glance.

    An officer working from the guide looks at how far the extension projects, how high it stands near a boundary, whether upper floors are set back and whether windows overlook neighbours. These are measurable, so the as-built survey becomes the evidence. We show each measurement beside the guide's test.

    Where a measurement is outside the guide, we do not hide it. We explain what in the site makes the departure acceptable, or propose a modest change, such as obscure glazing, to bring it within the spirit of the guide.

    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street

    Local figures for Ealing

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Householder decisions946 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted87.2 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time95.3 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Lawful development certificate applications (PS1)754 certificates2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals granted18 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals refused70 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Households living in a house50.3 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Conservation areas31 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Householder: alterations/extensions to a single dwellinghouse, from 1 Apr 2026548 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 Ealing
    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 Ealing has so many certificate cases

    The council recorded 754 certificate of lawfulness applications in the government return, a very high figure compared with 946 householder decisions. Many Ealing owners use certificates to prove that outbuildings, loft conversions and rear extensions are lawful.

    That matters for you in two ways. If your work is under 10 years old and outside permitted development, a certificate will not succeed and a retrospective application is the honest route. If it is older, a lawful development certificate in Ealing may suit you better and avoids the merits test.

    We check the dates first, using photographs and invoices, before recommending either route.

    Prior approvals that went wrong

    In the government return Ealing granted 18 large rear extension prior approvals and refused 70. Refusals far outnumber grants.

    An owner who builds a deep extension without an approved notification, or beyond the notified depth, ends up in the retrospective route. The merits test is the same as for householder development, with neighbour impact the main issue. Our prior approval drawings in Ealing set out the process for new proposals.

    In a retrospective case, we survey the depth and height, show the effect on the neighbour's rear windows in section and propose changes where they help.

    Numbers for householder applications

    The council decided 946 householder applications in its latest year, granted 87.2 per cent and decided 95.3 per cent in time. The pace is quick, but a retrospective case with objections can run longer.

    One error to check for is a rear extension with a roof lantern or raised floor that takes it over a height limit. We check heights from the lowest ground level at the boundary.

    The borough has 31 conservation areas and an Article 4 direction on houses in multiple occupation, so a house let to several unrelated sharers needs its own consideration. Around 50.3 per cent of households live in a house, which is why extension and loft cases dominate the work.

    Fee and what you receive

    The householder fee is £548 and the council has 8 weeks to decide. A refusal can be appealed within 12 weeks.

    Timing also matters for sharers. Where a house became a small shared home before the Ealing direction on houses in multiple occupation took effect, that earlier change may have needed no permission at all, and we look for tenancy records that pin down when it began.

    You receive a measured survey, as-built plans, elevations and sections, a design statement tied to the guide and the portal submission, checked by a second MCIAT chartered architectural technologist. The Ealing hub shows our other services there, and our planning appeals in Ealing service is open if the council refuses.

    Send us the address, the dates of the work and any letters from the council. We confirm the route and a fixed quote after a free constraints check, so there is no charge for finding out where you stand.

    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.
    Georgian brick terrace with sash windows, arched fanlight doorways, stone steps and iron railings in London
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Other services in Ealing

    Retrospective planning applications nearby

    Questions

    What does the extension guidance say about depth?

    We read the current version of the guide against your survey for each application. The page does not quote it, because the limits depend on house type and boundary.

    Should I apply for a certificate instead?

    Only if the work is lawful by age or permitted development. We check this before you spend on a planning fee.

    How long will Ealing take?

    The standard period is 8 weeks, and 95.3 per cent of householder cases were decided in time in the latest year.

    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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