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Hammersmith & Fulham, London

Retrospective planning applications in Hammersmith and Fulham

Hammersmith and Fulham has 47 conservation areas and rows of Victorian terraces, and a retrospective application there is argued street by street. The council can grant permission once the work is built. We survey the property, draw it as it stands and prepare the case. 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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    Georgian brick terrace with sash windows, arched fanlight doorways, stone steps and iron railings in London

    How the borough treats work already done

    We found no council rule written only for retrospective cases in Hammersmith and Fulham, and no local planning document that we could cite by name on this page. Officers apply the development plan and national policy to what exists, as they would to a drawing, and conservation area appraisals add street-specific detail.

    Some changes are unremarkable on a given terrace and notable on another. A front dormer where half the street has one is a different case from the first one in a row, and the register search tells us which we are dealing with.

    In a terrace the question is usually whether a change matches its neighbours. A rear dormer, a side infill or a rebuilt front boundary is compared with the next house along. If similar changes already stand on the street with permission, that is evidence worth gathering, and we search the council's register for them before we write the statement.

    The council publishes a planning search, and we use it to build a short list of comparable consents, with their dates, to put in front of the officer.

    Brick cottage with a tiled roof, chimneys and a front dormer window

    Local figures for Hammersmith & Fulham

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Conservation areas47 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Householder decisions506 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted97.8 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time79.8 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Lawful development certificate applications (PS1)94 certificates2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Households living in a house24.6 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Listed building entries268 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Average price, flat568,235 GBP2026-07publicdata.landregistry.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 Hammersmith & Fulham
    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

    A high grant rate that is not a promise

    The council decided 506 householder applications in its latest year and granted 97.8 per cent, a very high rate. Yet only 79.8 per cent were decided in time, a slower pace than the grant rate alone would suggest.

    Read both numbers together. Applications that reach decision here are often acceptable, and many applicants may have revised a scheme after pre-application advice. A retrospective case cannot revise the building before submission, so the high rate does not carry over. We prepare for a longer wait and for requests for change.

    The council also recorded 94 certificates of lawfulness.

    Photographs taken from the street before and after the work are the single most persuasive item in a terrace case. If you have none, estate agent images from an earlier sale, or street-level imagery with a date, often fill the gap.

    Flats, terraces and ownership

    Only 24.6 per cent of households live in a house and 32.1 per cent own their home. Many cases concern converted flats in terraces, where a lease, a freeholder and shared walls all matter. The average flat sells for £568,235 in the borough, so an unresolved alteration can hold up a sale.

    A side return infill is a frequent terrace case. It is rarely about the principle and mostly about depth, height and the effect on the neighbour's kitchen window, which a section drawing shows clearly.

    We ask for the lease and any landlord consent early. A planning permission does not authorise a breach of a lease, and a buyer's solicitor will check both.

    Heritage and listed buildings

    The borough has 268 listed building entries and 5 registered parks and gardens, plus 15 Heritage at Risk entries. Altering a listed building without consent is an offence separate from planning permission, so we check the listing first.

    Where a house backs onto gardens that form a green corridor, we describe the loss of garden area in the statement. It is a point officers raise even when the extension itself is modest.

    In a conservation area, windows, roof coverings and front boundaries are the typical subjects of retrospective cases. Photographs showing the previous condition help us argue what was lost and what was kept.

    Route, fee and delivery

    If the work is older than 10 years, a lawful development certificate in Hammersmith and Fulham may suffice. Otherwise the householder fee is £548 where the property qualifies, the council has 8 weeks to decide and a refusal can be appealed within 12 weeks.

    We provide a measured survey, as-built drawings, a statement with local comparables and the submission, with a second MCIAT chartered architectural technologist checking the set. See the Hammersmith and Fulham hub for our other services, and planning consultant support in the borough where a policy argument is needed.

    At the free check we ask for the address, the dates of the work and any correspondence from the council. We then confirm the route and the fixed quote in writing before you commit to a survey.

    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.
    Rear view of brick terraced houses in London with slate roofs and chimney stacks along the shared roofline
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Other services in Hammersmith & Fulham

    Retrospective planning applications nearby

    Questions

    Does a high grant rate mean my application will be granted?

    No. Each case is judged on its facts, and a retrospective case cannot be revised before submission as a new proposal can.

    Can nearby consents help my case?

    Yes. Similar permitted changes on the same street are evidence that the change is acceptable, and we search the register for them.

    Why is the council slower than the rate suggests?

    Only 79.8 per cent of householder cases were decided in time in the latest year. We plan for a longer wait.

    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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