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Lewisham, London

Retrospective planning application in Lewisham

Lewisham adopted a new local plan in 2,025, and any retrospective planning application is now judged against it. The council granted 89.4 per cent of 578 householder decisions in its latest year. If you have built without consent, we draw the work as it stands. Fixed quote after a free constraints check.

Fixed quote after a free constraints check

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  • LABC Partnered
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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

    The new Lewisham plan and the SPDs behind it

    Householder work is judged under the Lewisham Local Plan 2020-2040, adopted in 2,025, so older advice from neighbours or previous agents may be out of date. The guide for alterations is the Alterations and Extensions SPD, and the council also published the Small Sites SPD, which matters where a plot has been infilled or divided.

    A retrospective case involving a rear garden building or a back-land addition may raise questions under the small sites guidance, and we check which document your project engages. Where the work follows the Alterations and Extensions SPD, we show how on the face of the sheet, and where it does not we say so honestly.

    The measured survey is the base for everything. We record eaves, ridge and floor levels, openings and the boundary line, and mark every item built differently from any earlier approval.

    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street

    Local figures for Lewisham

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Article 4 directions57 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 direction areas89 Article 4 direction area polygons published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries367 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    worldHeritageSites1 World Heritage Sites intersecting the LPA boundary—planning.data.gov.uk
    Heritage at Risk entries21 Heritage at Risk Register entries within the LPA boundary (Historic England)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Households living in a house42.2 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Householder decisions578 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted89.4 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time95.2 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals refused46 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Lawful development certificate applications (PS1)410 certificates2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.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 Lewisham
    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

    Article 4 areas and heritage in Lewisham

    The council publishes 57 Article 4 directions, mapped as 89 areas. These matter because work that seemed like permitted development at the time may have needed consent, which is how many retrospective cases begin.

    Historic England lists 367 entries, among them 333 at Grade II, and 1 World Heritage Site touches the borough. There are also 21 entries on the Heritage at Risk Register. Blackheath and Brockley have clear design character, and we photograph the street context for the officer.

    How Lewisham decides householder work

    Of 578 householder decisions, 89.4 per cent were granted and 95.2 per cent were decided inside 8 weeks or an agreed extension. A clean, complete application still matters, because those are averages.

    The prior approval figures are more cautious: for larger home extensions Lewisham granted 2 and refused 46. If you built a deep rear extension under the assumption that this route was easy, the council may now treat it as unauthorised. Houses account for 42.2 per cent of households, and 410 lawful development certificate applications were made, so consider whether a lawful development certificate in Lewisham is available to you.

    Fee, limits and levy

    The householder application fee is £548 and the council has 8 weeks to decide a non-major case. If the council refuses, the householder appeal period is 12 weeks, and our planning appeals support in Lewisham covers it.

    Time limits matter: most building works are immune from enforcement after 10 years. Lewisham charges levy at £154.44/m² (Zone 1, Use Class C3); £108.1/m² (Zone 2, Use Class C3), with mayoral charging at £60 per square metre in band 2. Liability depends on floor area and the rules for unauthorised development, and we state the likely position in writing.

    Back-land buildings and plot divisions

    Where a garden is long enough to take one, a garden building used as a separate home is the serious end of the retrospective range. That is a new dwelling in law and is judged as one, with separate tests on access, amenity space and refuse.

    If your building is only used as a home office or studio, the case is much simpler, and we say so in the design note. Telling the council exactly how the building is used, and holding to it, is the best protection against a later dispute.

    Whatever the use, bring the electricity and council tax history of the building if there is one. Records like these can show whether a garden building has been lived in, and a clear record protects you either way.

    The drawings we prepare

    The set includes a measured survey, as-built and proposed plans, elevations and sections, location and block plans, and a design note against the new local plan. Our planning drawings in Lewisham are checked by a second chartered technologist.

    Your price is fixed after the free check. More information is in architectural drawings in Lewisham and the retrospective planning overview. We also work in Greenwich and Southwark.

    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 Lewisham

    Retrospective planning applications nearby

    Questions

    Does the new Lewisham plan change how my case is judged?

    Yes. The Lewisham Local Plan 2020-2040 was adopted in 2,025, and a retrospective application is judged under the policies in force now.

    Which SPD applies to a rear garden building?

    It depends on the scheme. The Alterations and Extensions SPD covers alterations, and the Small Sites SPD may apply where a plot has been divided.

    Could an Article 4 direction apply to me?

    Lewisham has 57 directions, so we check your street on the free constraints check.

    What does the intentional nature of the work mean?

    Policy states: Evidence that unauthorised development was intentional should be given substantial weight. We help you set out how the work came about.

    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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