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Westminster, London

Velux loft conversion drawings in Westminster

Velux loft conversion drawings for a Westminster home start at £695 including VAT. Westminster's Roofs guidance is strict about rooflights on the front of a building: they are not normally acceptable in the principal slopes, and the council expects them flush where they are allowed at all. With 56 conservation areas, the design usually turns on which slope is visible.

From £695 (VAT included)

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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 velux loft conversion 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.

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    Slate-clad roof extension on a yellow-brick London terraced house

    Velux loft conversion drawings in Westminster: what the Roofs guidance allows

    The council's roof guidance is the Roofs: a guide to alterations and extensions on domestic buildings SPG. On rooflights it is direct. They are not normally acceptable in the principal slopes, meaning the steep front and rear slopes of a mansard pitched at up to 70 degrees, except perhaps at the rear of unlisted buildings. Where they are acceptable, they should normally sit flush with the roof covering.

    The same document deals with other roof changes, and its general line is protective. Overhanging and gabled roofs should be kept in their original form, and only small dormers or rooflights at the rear or sides may be acceptable. The guidance is therefore not hostile to a Velux scheme, but it defines where the scheme can go.

    Mews houses fall under a second document, the Mews: a guide to alterations SPG. Some mews are identified where roof extensions will not normally be permitted, so the first thing we check for a mews address is which side of that line it falls.

    Converted loft bedroom with roof windows and a Juliet balcony

    Local figures for Westminster

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    On a mansard roof extension the principal (front and rear) slope should be pitched no greater than 70 degrees.70 degrees—westminster.gov.uk, Roofs SPG, PDF p.11, Designing a mansard roof, rule 1
    Conservation areas56 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions10 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries4,015 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    worldHeritageSites1 World Heritage Sites intersecting the LPA boundary—planning.data.gov.uk
    Householder decisions366 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted82 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time79 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Households living in a house10.2 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Lawful development certificate applications (PS1)138 certificates2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.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 Westminster

    Householder applications by street in Westminster

    Streets in Westminster with the most householder applications, and the share approved
    StreetApplicationsApproved
    Randolph Avenue1679%
    Ashworth Road1385%
    Clifton Hill1170%
    Ponsonby Place10100%
    Lancaster Mews938%
    Westbourne Park Road988%
    Carlton Hill886%
    Kilburn Lane886%
    Sutherland Place863%
    Wilton Row8100%
    Caroline Close733%
    Chester Row7100%
    Greenberry Street757%
    Hereford Road760%
    Hyde Park Gardens Mews775%
    Counts of householder applications by street; no individual applications are shown. Streets with fewer than five applications are left out.Source: GLA Planning London Datahub, householder applications, all years held. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
    Loft enlargement in section: the permitted development limitsExtra roof volume allowed: 40 m³ (terrace house) / 50 m³ (any other house) additional roof volume. Set-back from the eaves: Original eaves maintained; enlargement set at least 0.2 m from the eaves measured up the roof slope, so far as practicable (not required for hip-to-gable or roofs joining a rear/side extension). Height limit: No part higher than the highest part of the existing roofABC

    Loft enlargement in section: the permitted development limits

    A dormer on the rear slope, with the limits that decide whether it needs planning permission.

    A · Extra roof volume allowed
    40 m³ (terrace house) / 50 m³ (any other house) additional roof volume
    B · Set-back from the eaves
    Original eaves maintained; enlargement set at least 0.2 m from the eaves measured up the roof slope, so far as practicable (not required for hip-to-gable or roofs joining a rear/side extension)
    C · Height limit
    No part higher than the highest part of the existing roof

    Conservation areas and the World Heritage Site

    Westminster has 56 conservation areas and 10 Article 4 directions, and Historic England lists 4,015 entries in the borough. It also contains 1 World Heritage Site, whose setting is protected in its own right. We check each address against all of them.

    In a conservation area a rooflight scheme here is usually an application, not a certificate, and we plan for that from the start. The drawings include a roof plan and rear elevation that show the unit is out of sight from the street, a roof section that shows it is flush, and a short note from the Roofs guidance on why the position is acceptable.

    If your house is listed, consent is a separate matter. We can tell you at the first check, and we do not draw for a listed building under this service.

    Timing and the decision record

    In its latest year the council decided 366 householder applications, granted 82 per cent and decided 79 per cent inside eight weeks or an agreed extension. The in-time figure suggests that applicants should plan for extensions of time, and we build slack into the programme.

    Those figures include every householder project, from replacement windows to full roof extensions, so they do not forecast a result for a flush rear rooflight. What they do show is a council that reads each application against detailed written guidance.

    A Velux scheme is among the lightest of them, and a complete submission with a roof plan, a section and photographs of the rear slope gives the officer the whole answer on one sheet.

    Flats, leases and the Westminster roof

    Only 10.2 per cent of households here live in a house, so a large part of the work is for top-floor flats, where the lease decides who owns the roof. A rooflight needs the freeholder's consent as well as the council's, and many leases forbid roof alterations outright. We ask for the lease at the start and, if necessary, give you a note for the managing agent.

    Where there is a house, values are high. The average terraced house sold for £1,616,250 in the latest figures. We do not claim a conversion adds a set sum to value, because the data does not show it, and we focus on the room you gain and the design that keeps your roof in line with the guidance.

    Routes: certificate, application, or neither

    Where rights survive and the roof is not in a protected area, a lawful development certificate can confirm the work. Westminster dealt with 138 certificate applications of all kinds in its latest return, so officers see them regularly. In a conservation area the route changes to a householder application, which we draw as planning drawings.

    A third answer is sometimes the right one: if the roof cannot take a rooflight in any visible position and the design relies on one, the honest advice is to look at a different layout. We give that advice at the survey, before drawings are produced.

    Price, contents and nearby councils

    Velux loft conversion drawings in Westminster start at £695 including VAT, fixed before you commit. The set has existing and proposed plans, a roof section with the flush fit shown, elevations and the location and block plans. A second chartered technologist checks every sheet, and we redraw at no charge if the council asks for changes.

    See loft conversion drawings in Westminster for the wider picture, or the dormer loft conversion drawings in Westminster option where the roof allows. The service guide is at Velux loft conversion drawings, and the local overview at architectural drawings in Westminster. Nearby we cover Camden, Brent and the City of London.

    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.
    Brick cottage with a tiled roof, chimneys and a front dormer window
    Storey by storey
    Move up and down — the car travels between floors.

    Other services in Westminster

    Velux loft conversion drawings nearby

    Questions

    Are rooflights allowed on the front of a Westminster house?

    Not normally. The Roofs guidance says they are not normally acceptable in the principal slopes, except perhaps at the rear of unlisted buildings, and they should be flush where allowed.

    How many conservation areas does Westminster have?

    The council publishes 56, and the borough also has 10 Article 4 directions.

    How much do Velux loft conversion drawings cost in Westminster?

    From £695 including VAT, fixed before you commit.

    Do I need the freeholder's consent in Westminster?

    If you do not own the roof, yes. We ask about the lease at the beginning of every flat project.

    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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