Annexe and granny-flat drawings for Higham & Shorne homes — designed to stay ancillary to the main house rather than become a separate dwelling, drawn to Gravesham Borough Council's policies, delivered in days and revised free until your decision.
Gravesham Borough Council granted 78% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 9 points below the 87% England-wide householder average. Higham & Shorne contains Chestnut Green, Shorne Conservation Area, Church Street, Higham Conservation Area, Lower Higham Conservation Area conservation areas (Chestnut Green, Shorne Conservation Area designated 1976), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal, which is where a policy-literate drawing pack earns its keep. Its dominant Victorian (1837–1901) and postwar (1945–1970) housing stock sets the design brief on most streets.
Under Class B, a rear dormer stays permitted development up to 40m³ of added roof volume on a terrace or 50m³ on a semi-detached or detached house, while Class A allows a single-storey rear extension of 3m beyond the original rear wall on a terrace and 4m on a detached house before a full application is needed. In conservation areas such as Chestnut Green, Shorne Conservation Area, Church Street, Higham Conservation Area and Lower Higham Conservation Area those rights are removed, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Higham & Shorne is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Chestnut Green, Shorne (conservation area designated in 1976), Church Street, Higham (conservation area designated in 1979), Lower Higham (conservation area designated in 2008), Queen's Farm, Shorne (conservation area designated in 2001), Shorne Village (conservation area designated in 1975), Thong, Shorne (conservation area designated in 1980), Higham (civil parish within Higham & Shorne) and Shorne (civil parish within Higham & Shorne) — these are the Higham & Shorne pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Chestnut Green, Shorne Conservation Area, Church Street, Higham Conservation Area, Lower Higham Conservation Area, Queen's Farm, Shorne Conservation Area, Shorne Village Conservation Area and Thong, Shorne Conservation Area. Gravesham Borough Council weighs each proposal against Gravesham Borough Council's development plan and the design policies it applies to householder applications, where the 2,800 homes here are 36% 1955-1964, 14% pre-1900, 9% 1965-1972, which is what sets the realistic roof and rear-projection options. On roofs the borough is shallow gabled roofs typical of that period's building and steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building, over late-1950s and early-1960s houses (36% of 2,800 homes), Victorian and earlier houses (14%) and late-1960s and early-1970s houses (9%).
Higham & Shorne's designated heritage is specific, and it is the first thing we check against your address: Chestnut Green, Shorne (conservation area designated in 1976), Church Street, Higham (conservation area designated in 1979), Lower Higham (conservation area designated in 2008), Queen's Farm, Shorne (conservation area designated in 2001), Shorne Village (conservation area designated in 1975) and Thong, Shorne (conservation area designated in 1980). Inside those boundaries permitted development is curtailed and Gravesham Borough Council assesses materials, window detail and roof form against the area's own appraisal, so a scheme that would be waved through two streets away can need a full application here.
Beyond the designated areas, Higham & Shorne takes in Higham and Shorne. No Article 4 direction is recorded for Gravesham Borough Council, but Higham & Shorne's 6 conservation areas still limit permitted development on those streets.
On stock, Higham & Shorne is late-1950s and early-1960s houses (36% of 2,800 homes), Victorian and earlier houses (14%) and late-1960s and early-1970s houses (9%) — which is why shallow gabled roofs typical of that period's building and steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building govern what a loft or rear projection can realistically be. Gravesham Borough Council decided 400 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 78%, with 72% issued inside the eight-week target. Those are the numbers our drawings are prepared against.
The full build-period split for Higham & Shorne runs pre-1900 14% (380 homes), 1900-1918 5% (130 homes), 1919-1929 4% (100 homes), 1930-1939 7% (190 homes), 1945-1954 8% (220 homes), 1955-1964 36% (1,010 homes), 1965-1972 9% (260 homes), 1973-1982 7% (190 homes), 1983-1992 3% (80 homes), 1993-1999 5% (140 homes) and 2000-2008 1% (40 homes). That distribution is why pre-1900 detailing dominates the drawings here, and it is measured from council-tax records rather than assumed from the street name.
Gravesham Borough Council also decides for Meopham North, Meopham South & Vigo, Pelham and Town, so a decision in Higham & Shorne sits inside a wider pattern of decisions we track across the same authority — useful when an officer cites a precedent from the next area over.
Published figures for Higham & Shorne and Gravesham Borough Council. These are the numbers that decide what is realistic on your street, so we work from them rather than from national averages.
| Measure | Higham & Shorne |
|---|---|
| Dwellings recorded | 2,800 |
| Built pre-1900 | 380 (14%) |
| Built 1900-1918 | 130 (5%) |
| Built 1919-1929 | 100 (4%) |
| Built 1930-1939 | 190 (7%) |
| Built 1945-1954 | 220 (8%) |
| Built 1955-1964 | 1,010 (36%) |
| Built 1965-1972 | 260 (9%) |
| Built 1973-1982 | 190 (7%) |
| Built 1983-1992 | 80 (3%) |
| Built 1993-1999 | 140 (5%) |
| Built 2000-2008 | 40 (1%) |
| Built before 1919 | 18% |
| Built 1919–1939 | 10% |
| Built 1945–2008 | 69% |
| Conservation areas in Higham & Shorne | 6 (Chestnut Green, Shorne Conservation Area, Church Street, Higham Conservation Area…) |
| Conservation areas district-wide | 23 |
| Article 4 directions recorded | 0 |
| Householder applications decided | 400 |
| Householder applications granted | 78% |
| Decided within 8 weeks | 72% |
Dwelling stock from VOA council-tax data at 31 March 2025; conservation-area and Article 4 counts from planning.data.gov.uk (MHCLG); decision figures are Gravesham Borough Council's own, from MHCLG live table PS2 for the year to 31 March 2026.
Councils do not decide annexes on square metres. They decide whether, once built, the accommodation forms part of one planning unit with the main house or a second one beside it. Gravesham Borough Council looks at whether the garden is shared or divided, whether the annexe has its own street access and address, whether the occupier could live there entirely independently, and whether the two households would function as one. That is the whole case, and it is made or lost on the layout.
Higham & Shorne is largely late-1950s and early-1960s houses (36% of 2,800 homes), Victorian and earlier houses (14%) and late-1960s and early-1970s houses (9%), which shapes the realistic options: converting part of the existing house, extending it, or building a detached unit in the garden. A detached annexe can sometimes sit under Class E as an outbuilding incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse — but sleeping accommodation is generally not "incidental", so a garden annexe with a bedroom usually needs its own permission rather than relying on outbuilding rights.
In Higham & Shorne's conservation areas — including Chestnut Green, Shorne Conservation Area and Church Street, Higham Conservation Area — a garden building is also judged on its effect on the character of the area, which limits height and footprint before the use question is reached. No Article 4 direction is recorded for Gravesham Borough Council, but Higham & Shorne's 6 conservation areas still limit permitted development on those streets.
An annexe almost always needs an application to Gravesham Borough Council. Expect one where any of these apply:
We plan the annexe so its relationship to the main house is visible on the page — shared garden, connected access, a layout that reads as one household — and set out the case Gravesham Borough Council has to test, rather than leaving the officer to assume the worst.
Below is Gravesham Borough Council's real householder decision record, drawn from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. Gravesham Borough Council granted 78% of its householder applications in the year to 31 March 2026, and Chestnut Green, Shorne Conservation Area shapes what is approved here. Annexe applications are decided on use as much as design, so the supporting case matters as much as the elevations.
Source: MHCLG planning application statistics (householder decisions, England, 1 April 2025 - 31 March 2026). Compare every borough on our London approval-rate league table.
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Across Chestnut Green, Shorne, Church Street, Higham and Lower Higham, the annexes that succeed keep one shared garden, take access past the main house rather than from the street, and are modest against the host building — single storey where the plot is overlooked, and set back from boundaries. On late-1950s and early-1960s houses (36% of 2,800 homes), converting an integral garage or a rear ground floor is often approved more readily than a detached garden unit, because the ancillary relationship is self-evident.
Higham & Shorne contains Chestnut Green, Shorne Conservation Area, Church Street, Higham Conservation Area, Lower Higham Conservation Area conservation areas (Chestnut Green, Shorne Conservation Area designated 1976), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal. Where Gravesham Borough Council grants permission, it commonly attaches a condition tying occupation of the annexe to the main dwelling. That condition is not a problem to be avoided — it is usually the mechanism that makes approval possible, and we draft the application on that basis rather than pretending the annexe is something it is not.
We draw annexes across Higham & Shorne. A few of the areas where multigenerational schemes come up most often:
Annexe and granny-flat drawings for Chestnut Green, Shorne — conservation area designated in 1976 — planned to stay ancillary and drawn to Gravesham Borough Council's policies.
Annexe and granny-flat drawings for Church Street, Higham — conservation area designated in 1979 — planned to stay ancillary and drawn to Gravesham Borough Council's policies.
Annexe and granny-flat drawings for Lower Higham — conservation area designated in 2008 — planned to stay ancillary and drawn to Gravesham Borough Council's policies.
Annexe and granny-flat drawings for Queen's Farm, Shorne — conservation area designated in 2001 — planned to stay ancillary and drawn to Gravesham Borough Council's policies.
Annexe and granny-flat drawings for Shorne Village — conservation area designated in 1975 — planned to stay ancillary and drawn to Gravesham Borough Council's policies.
Annexe and granny-flat drawings for Thong, Shorne — conservation area designated in 1980 — planned to stay ancillary and drawn to Gravesham Borough Council's policies.
Three similar buildings, three different consents. This is what separates them.
| What you build | Planning status | Key test | What Gravesham Borough Council checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garden room, no sleeping space | Often Class E permitted development | Incidental to the house | Height, footprint, boundary position |
| Annexe used by the household | Full application, usually with a tie condition | Ancillary use | Shared garden and access, layout |
| Self-contained unit, own access | New dwelling — full application | Separate planning unit | Policy on new homes, amenity, parking |
| Converted garage or ground floor | Often permitted, use still assessed | Whether use changes | Independence of the accommodation |
| Annexe on designated land | Full application | Designation | Character and appearance |
The ancillary/separate-dwelling distinction comes from section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990; outbuilding limits from the GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1, Class E.
A fixed process built around how Gravesham Borough Council tests the use question as well as the design.
Tell us who the annexe is for and where it would sit on the plot. We confirm designation status and tell you honestly whether the scheme reads as ancillary or as a separate dwelling in Higham & Shorne.
We measure the plot, the existing house and the access route, so the shared-garden and shared-access case can be drawn rather than asserted.
Chartered designers develop the annexe to your brief, with the layout, access and garden relationship arranged to support the ancillary case under Gravesham Borough Council's policies.
We submit the application with a supporting statement on use, manage validation and case-officer queries, and revise free until Gravesham Borough Council decides.
Almost always. Sleeping accommodation is generally not "incidental" to the enjoyment of a house, so it falls outside the outbuilding permitted-development right, and any annexe that could function independently raises a change-of-use question under section 55. In Higham & Shorne we prepare a full application to Gravesham Borough Council and make the ancillary case explicitly rather than hoping it is not asked.
A shared garden rather than a divided one, access through the main property rather than a separate street entrance, occupation by a member of the same household, and a physical and functional relationship with the main house. Gravesham Borough Council weighs those together — no single feature decides it, but a separate front door and a fenced-off garden together usually settle it against you. This applies to your Higham & Shorne address specifically.
Yes, subject to permission. A detached garden annexe is assessed on its scale against the plot, its effect on neighbours and the character of the area, and then on the use question. Keeping it single storey, set in from boundaries and served off the shared garden gives it the best prospect in Higham & Shorne, particularly near designated areas such as Chestnut Green, Shorne Conservation Area and Church Street, Higham Conservation Area. Gravesham Borough Council is the decision-maker.
Commonly, yes — a condition tying occupation of the annexe to the main dwelling, so it cannot be sold or let separately. That is normally what makes approval possible, because it removes the concern that a new independent home is being created without going through housing policy. The condition runs with the land, so it matters at resale, and we explain the implications before you commit. This applies to your Higham & Shorne address specifically. Gravesham Borough Council is the decision-maker.
Yes. A new annexe is new habitable accommodation, so structure, fire escape, insulation and ventilation all apply, and a detached annexe close to a boundary raises fire-spread requirements as well. Planning and building control are separate consents with separate submissions — we prepare both so the approved design is the one that can actually be built. This applies to your Higham & Shorne address specifically. Gravesham Borough Council is the decision-maker.
A householder application runs to an eight-week statutory target; where the council treats the annexe as creating a new unit it becomes a minor application with a thirteen-week target instead. Which route applies depends on how the use is characterised, which is precisely why the ancillary case is worth making properly at the outset. This applies to your Higham & Shorne address specifically. Gravesham Borough Council is the decision-maker.
We quote each Higham & Shorne annexe individually, because plot, access and whether you are converting or building new all change the work, and send a fixed, no-obligation quote within one working day. It covers the full drawing pack and supporting statement, with free revisions until Gravesham Borough Council approves. Call 020 7864 7245 to start.
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