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Wandsworth, London

Retrospective planning applications in Wandsworth

Wandsworth decided 977 householder applications in its latest published year, a large caseload. If yours was built without permission, a retrospective application asks the council to approve it as it stands. 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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    One Wandsworth guide for most retrospective planning applications

    The council's Housing SPD (covers rear extensions, basements, roof extensions and loft conversions) deals with rear extensions, basements, roof extensions and loft conversions in a single document, under the Wandsworth Local Plan 2023-2038, adopted in 2,023. Wandsworth also publishes Basement extensions guidance (non-statutory). Neither gives finished work an easier test.

    Because one guide covers so many types of work, the officer's reading of your case follows a familiar list: the extension's size against the original house, its effect on the neighbours and the character of the street. We take each of those headings and show the as-built figure beside the guide's expectation on the drawings.

    31.4 per cent of Wandsworth households live in a house, and the rest mostly live in flats, so cases split between houses with extensions and flats with roof or terrace changes.

    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street

    Local figures for Wandsworth

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Householder decisions977 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted91.9 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time92.4 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Lawful development certificate applications (PS1)360 certificates2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Conservation areas46 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries312 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Households living in a house31.4 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Local planWandsworth Local Plan 2023-2038—wandsworth.gov.uk
    Supplementary planning documentHousing SPD (covers rear extensions, basements, roof extensions and loft conversions)2016wandsworth.gov.uk
    Average house price686,076 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 Wandsworth
    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

    Basements and roofs built without consent

    In Wandsworth, lofts and basements raise the hardest questions. A basement dug without permission is the hardest retrospective case, because it affects structure, drainage and the neighbouring properties, and the council has non-statutory guidance specifically about it. We start with a structural and drainage check before we draw anything for the council.

    A roof extension is easier to survey but just as easy to get wrong. If the dormer is larger than permitted development allows, or the house sits in a conservation area, the application must justify the whole roof change and not only the extra volume.

    The borough has 46 conservation areas, and Historic England lists 312 entries with 8 on the Heritage at Risk Register.

    Whatever the type of work, the first step is the same: an accurate survey. The council will compare your drawings with the building when its officer visits, and a drawing that flatters the work costs more credibility than an honest one that shows its limits.

    What the council's figures say and do not say

    The council granted 91.9 per cent of those 977 cases and decided 92.4 per cent on time or within an agreed extension. They cover all home extensions, so they describe a council that grants most householder work, but they cannot predict the outcome for an unauthorised building that an officer has already seen.

    The council also dealt with 360 certificate applications for existing development. If the work is old enough, our Lawful Development Certificate drawings in Wandsworth can prove it lawful and avoid an application.

    Where permission is the only route, we prepare the borough's planning drawings and a measured building survey as the base.

    Building Regulations come with it

    Planning permission is only half the story for work that is already built. A completed extension or basement also needs Building Regulations sign-off, and where it was never obtained the building control body has to be satisfied after the event.

    Our building regulations drawings in Wandsworth assemble the sections and details that building control will want, and a structural engineer's calculations can be arranged for beams, foundations and basement walls.

    An average Wandsworth home sold for £686,076 in the latest Land Registry month, so a buyer's solicitor will ask for both certificates before completion.

    Fee, decision period and appeal

    The householder fee is £548, paid to the council, and it must decide within 8 weeks unless you agree longer. The time limit for enforcement against most unauthorised building works is 10 years. Wandsworth has no Article 4 direction on small HMOs.

    If the council refuses, 12 weeks run from the decision notice to lodge an appeal, and our planning appeals service can prepare it. If the officer asks for amendments, we redraw free of charge. Our architectural drawings in Wandsworth page covers everything else, and the Lambeth page covers the neighbouring borough.

    Before we submit, you receive a note setting out what the officer will see, where we think the case is weakest and what an amendment would cost, so you can decide whether to apply, amend or appeal later.

    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 Wandsworth

    Retrospective planning applications nearby

    Questions

    Can I regularise a basement that was dug without permission in Wandsworth?

    Possibly, but it is the hardest case. The council publishes Basement extensions guidance (non-statutory) for basements, and we check structure, drainage and neighbours before an application.

    Do I need Building Regulations approval for work that is already built?

    Yes, where the work counted as building work. It needs sign-off as well as planning permission. We prepare the drawings that building control asks for when approval was never obtained.

    How many certificate of lawfulness applications does Wandsworth handle?

    The council's return shows 360 certificate applications for existing development in its latest published year. A certificate can remove the need for a planning application for older work.

    Sources and dates

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    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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