020 7864 7245Request a fixed quote

Kingston upon Thames, London

Side return extension drawings in Kingston upon Thames

Side return extension drawings for a Kingston upon Thames house start at £745 including VAT. Kingston has a large mapped area of tree protection, so before we sketch the extension we check what stands beside your side passage as well as what stands in it.

From £745 (VAT included)

  • MCIAT chartered
  • £2m PI insured
  • LABC Partnered
  • Fixed fees, VAT included

Request a fixed quote

We use it to check conservation areas and constraints.
Pick the council that decides your application.
A few lines: what you want to build, and anything the council has already said.
Add photos or drawings

Drop files here or choose from your device

PDF, JPG, PNG, DWG · up to 10 files, 90 MB in total

    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 side return extension drawings

    Nine 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.

    8. Building regulations

      Technical drawings are coordinated with the structural engineer's calculations, the drainage and the planning conditions.

    9. Approval and hand-over

      Building control approval, then a next-steps pack covering the commencement notice, party wall timing and CIL.

    Free redraws until approval. Every drawing set is checked independently, and the checker is never the person who drew it.

    Request a fixed quote
    Brick house being extended, with a wide new opening supported over the ground floor

    Design guidance for a side return in Kingston upon Thames

    The council's householder design document is the Residential Design SPD. Rather than quote a single infill figure from it, we read the document against your plot and show the relevant tests on the drawings.

    Wherever a side return is proposed, the same four questions come up: roof height at the boundary, the flank window next door, the set-back from the front, and the garden that is left. Our drawings answer each one visibly.

    Practically, the tree survey is the long pole. If a protected specimen stands close to your side passage, the foundation design and the construction access both change, so we raise it in the first week. Where a semi has only a side gate and a narrow passage to the back, that passage is also the only way to get materials in. We sketch the delivery route on the plan, which matters to the neighbours as much as to the builder, and it keeps the party wall conversation civil.

    Finished white-rendered rear house extension with large glazed doors

    Local figures for Kingston upon Thames

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Tree preservation zones7,145 tree preservation zone polygons published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions3 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Conservation areas28 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries163 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Green Belt share of the council area17 % of council area covered by green-belt polygons—planning.data.gov.uk
    Supplementary planning documentResidential Design SPD2013kingston.gov.uk
    Householder decisions742 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted83 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time92.5 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals granted3 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals refused35 decisions2025 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 Kingston upon Thames
    The 45-degree test in planTest used in daylight assessments: 45 degrees (plan and elevation). Kingston upon Thames guidance: 45 degreesAB

    The 45-degree test in plan

    A line from the middle of the neighbour's nearest window: the extension should stay behind it.

    A · Test used in daylight assessments
    45 degrees (plan and elevation)
    B · Kingston upon Thames guidance
    45 degrees

    Trees, Article 4 and mapped constraints in Kingston upon Thames

    The council's data shows 7,145 tree preservation zone polygons, and a protected tree near a side passage can limit the footprint, the foundation depth and the route for materials. We plot those zones against your boundary at the free address check.

    It also publishes 3 Article 4 directions, mapped as 114 separate areas, and 28 conservation areas. In a conservation area national permitted development gives no side extension: No side extensions under PD on article 2(3) land (conservation areas etc.). An Article 4 area can take away rights that apply elsewhere.

    Historic England lists 163 entries inside the borough, and Green Belt covers 17 per cent of its area, so riverside and edge-of-borough plots get a second look.

    Kingston's record on householder and prior approval cases

    Kingston decided 742 householder applications in the latest twelve months, granting 83 per cent and deciding 92.5 per cent within eight weeks or an agreed extension.

    Prior approval for deeper rear extensions went very differently: 3 granted against 35 refused. If your scheme joins a side return to a deep rear, we usually recommend a full application. A smaller scheme within the limit, Side extension: single storey, max 4 m high, max half the width of the original house, can be recorded with a lawful development certificate in Kingston upon Thames.

    Domestic gardens make up 30.9 per cent of the land in the national survey, so the garden left behind an extension deserves a clear plan of its own.

    Boundaries, heat and fees in Kingston upon Thames

    In a semi, a side return rises against the neighbour's flank, and a wall built on the line brings: Line-of-junction (new wall) notice at least 1 month before work. Breaking into the shared wall instead brings: Party structure notice at least 2 months before work. See our party wall notices service.

    The glazed area is held down by Approved Document L: Windows, roof windows, rooflights and doors in an extension should not exceed 25% of the extension floor area plus the area of openings removed or covered. Kingston's householder application fee is £548. The borough levy is shown as £323.07/m² (Zone 1); £200/m² (Zone 2); £130.76/m² (Zone 3); £76.92/m² (Zone 4), depending on the zone your house sits in.

    The average terraced house sold for £591,784 and the average semi for £812,491 in the latest figures, which is the context many owners use when they weigh extending against moving.

    Inside a Kingston upon Thames drawing set

    For £745, fixed before you commit, you receive the existing and proposed plans, elevations and sections plus location and block plans. Every sheet goes past a second chartered technologist, and Kingston's requests for changes are redrawn without charge.

    Technical detail continues in building regulations drawings in Kingston upon Thames, and the borough overview is architectural drawings in Kingston upon Thames.

    Some Kingston owners pair the side return with a loft or a rear addition. We can draw each as a separate application or as one, and we will tell you which route reads better for your plot before you commit to either.

    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.
    Two-storey rear extension under construction on a semi-detached house
    Every side considered
    Flick across the turntable to spin it.

    Other services in Kingston upon Thames

    Side return extension drawings nearby

    Questions

    Do protected trees affect a side return in Kingston upon Thames?

    They can. The council maps 7,145 tree protection zones, and we plot them against your boundary.

    Do conservation areas change things in Kingston upon Thames?

    Yes. The borough has 28, and the national rule inside them is: No side extensions under PD on article 2(3) land (conservation areas etc.).

    Is prior approval likely to work here?

    It has been hard: 3 granted and 35 refused in the latest year for larger home extensions.

    What is Kingston's fee for a householder application?

    £548, paid to the Royal Borough when the application is made.

    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.

    Request a fixed quoteCall 020 7864 7245WhatsApp