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Richmond upon Thames, London

Retrospective planning applications in Richmond upon Thames

Richmond upon Thames has 85 conservation areas and 819 listed building entries, so many alterations here need permission that owners do not expect. A retrospective application asks the council to approve that work after the event. We survey it, draw it as built and set out the case for the officer. 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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    Rear view of brick terraced houses in London with slate roofs and chimney stacks along the shared roofline

    Richmond guidance for a retrospective planning application

    The council's householder guide is the House Extensions and External Alterations SPD, supported by the Design Quality SPD and the Residential Development Standards SPD. They sit under the Richmond Local Plan 2024-2039, adopted in 2,025. None sets a special test for finished work, so your building is judged as a proposal would be.

    In practice the officer looks hard at how the extension sits against the original house: its height under the existing eaves, how far it projects and whether the materials match. Those are the points where an extension built slightly oversize on site fails, and they are the ones we measure first.

    A plan adopted this recently also means the policy numbers in older planning decisions you may find at the address could have changed, so we read the current wording, not the one quoted in a previous approval.

    Dated photographs, the builder's invoice and any Building Regulations completion certificate help show when the work was done. They often settle whether an application is needed at all, and a heritage officer will ask for them if the house is in a conservation area.

    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule

    Local figures for Richmond upon Thames

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Householder decisions1,302 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted83.3 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time98.3 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Lawful development certificate applications (PS1)466 certificates2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Conservation areas85 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries819 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Local planRichmond Local Plan 2024-2039—richmond.gov.uk
    Supplementary planning documentHouse Extensions and External Alterations SPD2015richmond.gov.uk
    Average house price803,249 GBP2026-07publicdata.landregistry.gov.uk
    Householder: alterations/extensions to a single dwellinghouse, from 1 Apr 2026548 GBP—ribblevalley.gov.uk
    DMPO 2015 art 37(2)(a): householder appeal, from the date of the decision notice12 weeks—legislation.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 Richmond upon Thames
    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

    Conservation areas and listed buildings

    With 85 conservation areas the borough protects a large part of its housing. In those areas permitted development is reduced, so a loft dormer, a replaced window or a front-facing change that an owner assumed was allowed may be a breach. The council also holds 1 World Heritage entry and 17 Heritage at Risk Register entries.

    If your house is one of the 819 listed entries, unauthorised alterations may also need a separate listed building consent. That is a different application with its own rules, and we tell you at the first call if it applies.

    Our measured building survey captures the exact roof pitch, window positions and materials, which the heritage officer will want to see.

    How Richmond decides householder cases

    In its latest published year the council decided 1,302 householder applications, a large caseload, granted 83.3 per cent and decided 98.3 per cent on time or within an agreed extension. These figures cover every extension type, so they show the council's habits, not a forecast for your case.

    The timeliness is useful for planning. A householder decision is usually due within 8 weeks. Richmond's record on time is good, but it is no promise for any one case.

    The council also handled 466 certificate applications for existing development in the same period. If your work is old enough, our Lawful Development Certificate drawings in Richmond upon Thames may remove the need for permission altogether.

    Money, timing and the CIL question

    The average Richmond home sold for £803,249 in the latest Land Registry month, so a breach that blocks a sale or a remortgage costs far more than the work to cure it. The council's householder fee is £548, and the time limit for enforcement against most unauthorised building works is 10 years.

    Borough CIL under the Borough CIL Charging Schedule is set at £418.41/m² (Residential Higher Band); £317.99/m² (Residential Lower Band). Retrospective permission for a large extension can bring a CIL liability, so we check the position before you commit.

    Richmond has no Article 4 direction on small HMOs, which keeps one common complication out of most cases.

    Where we fit and what happens after a refusal

    We prepare the as-built survey, the existing and proposed drawings and a plain statement of what was built and when, using the borough's planning drawings format. If the officer asks for amendments, we redraw free of charge.

    If the council refuses, you have 12 weeks to appeal, and our planning appeals service can prepare it. Our architectural drawings in Richmond upon Thames page lists everything else we do in the borough, and the neighbouring Kingston upon Thames page covers the other side of the river.

    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 Richmond upon Thames

    Retrospective planning applications nearby

    Questions

    I live in a Richmond conservation area and built a dormer without permission. What now?

    Permitted development is reduced in conservation areas, so the dormer probably needed consent. We survey it, test it against the House Extensions and External Alterations SPD and prepare a retrospective application, or advise changes first if it is unlikely to be acceptable.

    Does my listed house need a different application?

    Unauthorised alterations to a listed building may need listed building consent as well as planning permission. The borough has 819 listed entries, so we check the list entry first.

    How likely is Richmond to decide on time?

    In its latest published year the council decided 98.3 per cent of householder applications in time. That is a record, not a promise about yours.

    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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