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Greenwich, London

Retrospective planning applications in Greenwich

Royal Greenwich has a World Heritage Site on the river and a housing stock that ranges from Victorian terraces to estate flats, and building done without permission is tested against both. The council can grant permission afterwards. We survey the property, draw it as built and prepare the application. Fixed quote after a free constraints check.

Fixed quote after a free constraints check

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  • LABC Partnered
  • Fixed fees, VAT included

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

    The plan Royal Greenwich applies to built work

    We found no rule from Royal Greenwich made for retrospective applications. The council applies the Royal Greenwich Local Plan: Core Strategy with Detailed Policies, adopted in 2,014, to what you built exactly as it would to a drawing. That plan is older than most London plans, so officers also lean on national policy and on the design rules the borough sets for extensions.

    The plan is older than the current London Plan, so we cite the policies by name and number from the version in force and check that they have not been replaced by a newer document before we submit.

    In practice the main questions are the effect on neighbours, the character of the street and, near the river, the setting of heritage assets. The borough contains 1 World Heritage Site, 13 scheduled monuments and 4 registered parks and gardens, so a sensitive address brings extra consultation.

    We check the address against Historic England and council mapping before quoting. If you are near the Maritime Greenwich site, tell us at the first call.

    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule

    Local figures for Greenwich

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    worldHeritageSites1 World Heritage Sites intersecting the LPA boundary—planning.data.gov.uk
    Householder decisions624 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted77.1 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time94.2 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Lawful development certificate applications (PS1)437 certificates2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals granted82 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals refused76 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Households living in a house48.4 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Conservation areas23 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 Greenwich
    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

    Large extensions and prior approval in Greenwich

    Greenwich has a heavy prior approval caseload: the council granted 82 large rear extension notifications and refused 76 in the government return, a near even split. With so many owners using the process, mistakes are common.

    The usual error is building before the decision date, building deeper than approved, or adding a roof feature the notification did not cover. The extension then falls outside permitted development and needs full permission. Our prior approval drawings in Greenwich explain how new notifications work.

    For a retrospective case we draw the extension as built, mark the approved dimensions beside it and show the neighbour's windows in section.

    Where a prior approval was granted for a smaller extension and a larger one was built, the original notification is still useful. It shows what the council accepted, and it frames the difference as a matter of degree.

    Householder figures and certificates

    The council decided 624 householder applications in its latest year and granted 77.1 per cent. It decided 94.2 per cent in time. Those figures say a retrospective case deserves careful preparation, but they do not predict a decision.

    Greenwich has many flats above shops and in converted houses. For those, the retrospective question often concerns a roof terrace or a rear conversion, and we establish early whether the freeholder owns the roof.

    The council recorded 437 certificate of lawfulness applications. If your work is older than 10 years, a lawful development certificate in Greenwich may prove it lawful without the merits test.

    Flats, HMOs and levy in the borough

    About 48.4 per cent of households live in a house, so many cases involve flats or conversions. Greenwich also applies an Article 4 direction to houses in multiple occupation, so a house turned into a shared home needs permission. If that happened without consent, the conversion is a separate question from an extension.

    A river view invites changes that others notice. A glazed balustrade, a roof terrace or a raised rear deck can look small on plan and large from the water, so we draw views from the street and from the nearest public viewpoint.

    The council adopted a levy schedule, the Royal Borough of Greenwich CIL Charging Schedule 2024 (Borough CIL 2), and a retrospective permission for new floorspace can fall within it. We measure floor area to a standard that supports a calculation, and we suggest you take advice on any levy bill.

    Fee, timing and what you receive

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

    We provide a measured survey, as-built plans and elevations, a short statement and the submission, with a second MCIAT chartered architectural technologist checking the set. See the Greenwich hub for other services, or planning appeals in Greenwich if the council refuses.

    Send us the approval letter if there is one, the dates of the work and photographs of the extension from the garden and from the neighbour's side if they allow it. That is usually enough for a free check and a fixed quote.

    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.
    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Other services in Greenwich

    Retrospective planning applications nearby

    Questions

    Is my house in the World Heritage Site setting?

    We check the address against heritage mapping before quoting. If it is, expect extra consultation and a statement on the effect on the setting.

    I built under a prior approval but went deeper. What now?

    The extension is outside permitted development and needs full permission. We draw it as built and compare it with the approval.

    What is the fee?

    The householder fee is £548 where the property qualifies. Other cases have different fees, which we confirm in the quote.

    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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