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Southwark, London

Retrospective planning applications in Southwark

Southwark granted 94.8 per cent of its householder applications in its latest published year, from 558 decisions, and only 21.8 per cent of households live in a house. If you have built or altered something without permission, a retrospective application asks the council to approve it as it stands. We survey, draw and argue the case. Fixed quote after a free constraints check.

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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

    Southwark policy tests for a retrospective planning application

    The Southwark Plan 2022, adopted in 2,022, sets the borough's design and amenity policies, and the Householder development SPD explains them for homeowners. The council has no easier standard for finished work, so an officer reads your drawings against the same text as for a new scheme.

    Only 21.8 per cent of households live in a house, so a retrospective case in Southwark is as likely to involve a rear addition to a Victorian terrace, a roof terrace on a flat or a lower-ground conversion as a classic suburban extension. Each raises its own questions about neighbours' privacy and daylight.

    We record the building as it is and then check it against those questions before we apply.

    Dated photographs, invoices from the builder and any correspondence with the freeholder help show when the work was done. Keep them together, because they decide whether a retrospective application is the right route or a certificate of lawfulness will do.

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

    Local figures for Southwark

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Householder decisions558 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted94.8 %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)200 certificates2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions480 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Conservation areas53 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Tree preservation zones724 tree preservation zone polygons published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries919 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Local planSouthwark Plan 2022—southwark.gov.uk
    Average house price572,478 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 Southwark
    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 directions and why they matter here

    The council maps 480 Article 4 directions, a large number, and 53 conservation areas. Both take away rights that owners elsewhere take for granted. A window replacement, a front-garden hard standing or a roof alteration that would be permitted development in another borough may need permission in Southwark.

    That is a common way for an owner to end up needing a retrospective application: they built under a right they thought they had, and the Article 4 direction had already removed it. We check the direction map for your exact address before anything else.

    The borough also protects trees. It records 724 tree preservation zones, so work that damaged a protected tree is a separate problem from the building itself.

    If a direction applies, the application must explain why the work is acceptable despite it, and the officer will read that explanation closely.

    Flats, leases and the consent you may also need

    Southwark's owner-occupation rate is only 28.9 per cent, and many homes are leasehold flats. A planning permission does not override a lease. If your work changed the structure, the roof or the external appearance of a flat, you may also need the freeholder's written consent, and a buyer's solicitor will ask for both.

    Our measured building survey gives the drawings an accurate base, and where the lease asks for a plan of the alteration we can supply that too.

    A listed home adds one more layer. Historic England lists 919 entries in the borough, and unauthorised alterations to one may need listed building consent.

    What the council's record suggests

    The council decided 558 householder applications and granted 94.8 per cent, deciding 95.3 per cent in time. These cover all householder work and say nothing certain about a retrospective one, but they show a council that does not routinely refuse home alterations.

    It also handled 200 certificate applications for existing development. If your work is old enough, our Lawful Development Certificate drawings in Southwark may prove it lawful without a planning application.

    The average Southwark home sold for £572,478 in the latest Land Registry month, enough to make any unresolved breach worth curing before a sale.

    Fee, timing and appeals

    The householder application fee is £548, paid to the council. It has 8 weeks to decide unless you agree longer. The time limit for enforcement against most unauthorised building works is 10 years.

    We prepare the borough's planning drawings and, if the officer asks for changes, redraw free of charge. After a refusal you have 12 weeks to lodge an appeal through our planning appeals service. The full range is on our architectural drawings in Southwark page.

    Before we submit, you receive a short note setting out what the officer will see, where the case looks weakest and what an amendment would cost, so the decision to apply is yours and made with the facts in front of you.

    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 Southwark

    Retrospective planning applications nearby

    Questions

    Why do Southwark owners need retrospective permission more often than owners elsewhere?

    The borough maps 480 Article 4 directions that remove permitted development rights. Work that was permitted in another borough may have needed permission at a Southwark address.

    I am a leaseholder. Is planning permission enough?

    No. A lease may require the freeholder's consent as well. We supply the drawings both processes need, but the lease terms are for your solicitor.

    Does Southwark protect trees on private land?

    The council records 724 tree preservation zones. Work that harmed a protected tree needs separate advice, which we can flag after checking the site.

    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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