020 7864 7245Request a fixed quote

Southwark, London

Wraparound extension drawings in Southwark

Southwark's Householder SPD gives a wraparound three limits in one sentence: a depth on the boundary, a height at the eaves and a share of the rear garden. Wraparound extension drawings for Southwark houses from us start at £1,195 including VAT, and we dimension each limit on the plans so the officer can tick them off.

From £1,195 (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 wraparound 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
    Two-storey rear extension under construction on a semi-detached house

    The limits in Southwark's Householder SPD

    The council's Householder development SPD deals with L-shaped and wrap-around extensions together. Its limits read 6 m; 2.4 m; 50%. In words: no deeper than the first figure along the boundary, below the second figure at the eaves, light kept to the outrigger window, and no more than the last figure as a share of the rear garden.

    The garden share is the limit that surprises owners. A house with a long thin garden may pass it easily, while a house with a short garden and a deep side return fails it, even though the building is modest. We calculate the share on the proposed plan and print it on the sheet so that it can be checked in seconds.

    The outrigger window is the other detail to draw carefully. Many Southwark houses have a rear outrigger with a window facing the side return, and the guidance expects that window to keep its light. We show the 45° line from its centre in plan and section.

    The eaves limit shapes the roof more than owners expect. Keeping the eaves low at the boundary pushes the design toward a mono-pitch roof that falls toward the neighbour or a flat roof with a thin edge, and either choice affects drainage and the build-up of the ceiling. We resolve the roof edge on the section at a scale large enough to show gutter, fascia and wall plate, so that the height tested by the council is the height that gets built.

    House extension under construction with scaffolding, new glazed doors and building materials

    Local figures for Southwark

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    L-shaped or wrap-around extensions should be no deeper than 6m on the boundary, stay below 2.4m at the eaves, keep light to the outrigger window, and use no more than 50% of the rear garden.6 m; 2.4 m; 50%—southwark.gov.uk, Householder SPD 2025, p.74, section 3.5.3
    Conservation areas53 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions480 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries919 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Households living in a house21.8 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Owner-occupied households28.9 % of households owner-occupied (owned outright or with mortgage/loan)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    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
    Larger home extension prior approvals granted7 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals refused2 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Domestic gardens share of land (GLUD 2005)17.6 % of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005)2005data.london.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 Southwark

    Householder applications by street in Southwark

    Streets in Southwark with the most householder applications, and the share approved
    StreetApplicationsApproved
    Ivydale Road6098%
    Upland Road5192%
    Friern Road4695%
    Underhill Road3293%
    Landells Road2996%
    Crystal Palace Road2587%
    Melbourne Grove2491%
    Dunstans Road2391%
    Burbage Road2291%
    Turney Road22100%
    Hollydale Road21100%
    Court Lane1994%
    Harlescott Road19100%
    Henslowe Road19100%
    Barry Road18100%
    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.
    Single-storey rear extension: the permitted development limitsDepth beyond the original rear wall: 3 m (attached) / 4 m (detached) beyond the original rear wall, single storey. Maximum height: 4 m. Within the zone near the boundary: Eaves no higher than 3 m where within 2 m of the curtilage boundary. Larger extension under prior approval: 6 m (attached) / 8 m (detached), single storey, height max 4 m; not on article 2(3) land or an SSSIABCD

    Single-storey rear extension: the permitted development limits

    The house in section with a rear extension; the dashed lines mark the zone near the boundary.

    A · Depth beyond the original rear wall
    3 m (attached) / 4 m (detached) beyond the original rear wall, single storey
    B · Maximum height
    4 m
    C · Within the zone near the boundary
    Eaves no higher than 3 m where within 2 m of the curtilage boundary
    D · Larger extension under prior approval
    6 m (attached) / 8 m (detached), single storey, height max 4 m; not on article 2(3) land or an SSSI

    A dense borough with a long heritage list

    Southwark has 53 conservation areas and Historic England records 919 listed entries within it, including 9 scheduled monuments. The council also publishes 480 Article 4 directions, and each one can remove rights that national rules would give.

    Only 21.8 per cent of households live in a house, and 28.9 per cent own their home, so the houses that can take a wraparound are a small and valuable group. Gardens cover 17.6 per cent of the borough's land, which explains why the council limits the share of garden an extension may take.

    Trees add another layer: the council publishes 724 tree preservation zones, and a protected tree near the new side wall can change the foundations as well as the footprint. We search every address against the Article 4 list and the tree layer first. With a number that large, a house that looks free of constraints can still be covered by a direction on its street.

    Permitted development and prior approval in Southwark

    National rules allow the rear element as follows: 3 m (attached) / 4 m (detached) beyond the original rear wall, single storey. The side element is: Side extension: single storey, max 4 m high, max half the width of the original house. The two share a single allowance, and on conservation land the side element is lost altogether.

    The larger-home prior approval record is thin: Southwark granted 7 notifications and refused 2 in the latest national statistics. A wraparound that goes through a householder application is judged directly against the SPD limits above.

    Southwark householder decisions

    Southwark decided 558 householder applications in its latest published year and granted 94.8 per cent, with 95.3 per cent decided inside eight weeks or an agreed extension.

    That rate covers all householder work, so it is not a promise for a wraparound. What it does suggest is that a scheme drawn to the SPD limits gets a fair hearing, and that is the reason we work to those limits rather than pushing against them.

    Wraparound extension drawings in Southwark: scope and cost

    The set includes existing and proposed plans, sections and elevations, a location plan and a block plan. A second chartered technologist checks each sheet, the fee is £1,195 including VAT and fixed in advance, and we redraw at no charge if the council asks for amendments before it decides. Southwark's own fee for a householder application is £548.

    Because terraces here share walls, the adjoining owners will need notices. For a new line-of-junction wall: Line-of-junction (new wall) notice at least 1 month before work. For excavation: Adjacent excavation notice at least 1 month before work: within 3 m and deeper than the neighbour's foundations, or within 6 m and cutting a 45° line from their foundations.

    Related drawings and neighbouring boroughs

    A smaller scheme may meet the garden limit more easily, see side return extension drawings in Southwark and rear extension drawings in Southwark. For a roof alongside, see loft conversion drawings in Southwark. The borough overview is architectural drawings in Southwark. Next door, Lambeth and Lewisham apply different tests.

    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 house being extended, with a wide new opening supported over the ground floor
    Every side considered
    Flick across the turntable to spin it.

    Other services in Southwark

    Wraparound extension drawings nearby

    Questions

    What are Southwark's limits for a wraparound extension?

    The Householder SPD sets a depth on the boundary, an eaves height, a requirement to keep light to the outrigger window and a share of the rear garden (6 m; 2.4 m; 50%). We dimension each on the drawings.

    Do Article 4 directions affect a Southwark wraparound?

    They can. Southwark publishes 480 of them, and each may remove permitted development rights on its streets. We check the address before designing.

    How much are wraparound extension drawings in Southwark?

    From £1,195 including VAT, fixed up front, with the council's fee paid separately.

    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