Full-plans building regulations drawings for Greenwich — the technical construction set covering structure, fire safety, insulation and Part L, drawn to satisfy building control so your builder can price and build with certainty, delivered in days and revised free until sign-off, with a free project check first.
the Royal Borough of Greenwich granted 87% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — level with the 87% England-wide householder average. The Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site and its buffer zone add height and setting tests near the town centre, which is where a policy-literate drawing pack earns its keep. Its dominant Georgian (1714–1837), Victorian (1837–1901), Edwardian (1901–1910) and interwar (1918–1939) housing stock sets the design brief on most streets.
Class A and Class B set the thresholds — a rear dormer to 40m³ on a terrace or 50m³ on a semi or detached, and a single-storey rear extension to 3m on a terrace or 4m on a detached house — beyond which the Royal Borough of Greenwich needs a full application. Greenwich carries at least one Article 4 direction, and conservation areas including West Greenwich, Blackheath Park and Ashburnham Triangle remove those rights outright, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Greenwich is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Greenwich (Georgian and early-Victorian terraces inside the West Greenwich conservation area), Blackheath (villas and terraces around the Cator Estate and Blackheath Park), Westcombe Park (Edwardian and Victorian villas climbing the hill above the river), Charlton (the older cottages and interwar streets around Charlton Village), Eltham (interwar semis including the Well Hall Progress Estate) and Woolwich (denser Victorian terraces amid riverside regeneration) — these are the Greenwich pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include West Greenwich, Blackheath Park, Ashburnham Triangle, Westcombe Park and Charlton Village. the Royal Borough of Greenwich weighs each proposal against the Royal Greenwich Local Plan: Core Strategy with Detailed Policies and the borough's residential extensions design guidance, where protected Thames-side views shape what roof additions are acceptable on the borough's northern edge. On roofs the borough is parapet and butterfly roofs on the Georgian terraces and pitched and hipped roofs on the villas, over Georgian and early-Victorian terraces, Victorian and Edwardian villas and riverside and interwar housing.
Planning permission decides whether you can build; the Building Regulations decide that what you build is safe, warm and sound. They are two separate approvals, run by different bodies, and a Greenwich project usually needs both. The building regulations set is the technical layer beneath the planning drawings — construction sections, structural details, insulation build-ups and fire-safety provisions that a builder works from and a building control surveyor checks against the approved documents.
In practice that means Part A structure — beam and foundation details with the structural calculations behind them; Part B fire — escape, protected routes and, in a loft, a fire door and mains-linked alarms; Part L conservation of fuel and power — U-values, insulation and airtightness; plus drainage, ventilation and stairs. On Greenwich's stock, which runs to Georgian and early-Victorian terraces, Victorian and Edwardian villas and riverside and interwar housing, the recurring challenge is meeting Part L in solid-walled period houses without ruining the room, and we detail the insulation to hit the numbers with the least intrusion.
Building control applies everywhere in Greenwich regardless of planning designation, but in conservation areas such as West Greenwich, Blackheath Park, Ashburnham Triangle, Westcombe Park and Charlton Village the two processes interact — insulation and window details often have to satisfy Part L and a planning condition at once. Article 4 directions strip out permitted-development rights across Greenwich's conservation areas such as West Greenwich and Westcombe Park, so front-facing and roof alterations there need a full application. We draw the construction details to reconcile both.
A full-plans set for Greenwich building control is checked against the Approved Documents. A typical extension or loft set covers each of these:
We produce the full-plans construction set — structure, fire, thermal and drainage details with the structural calculations — and submit it to your chosen building control body, whether that is the Royal Borough of Greenwich's own team or an approved inspector, so problems are settled on paper before they cost money on site.
Building control is a separate approval, but most Greenwich projects clear planning first, so the Royal Borough of Greenwich's live decision record below sets the context. Greenwich approves most householder applications, but the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site and its dense conservation coverage set the terms for what works near the town centre and the river. We handle both stages, so the construction drawings follow through seamlessly once permission is granted.
Source: MHCLG planning application statistics (householder decisions, rolling year). Compare every borough on our London approval-rate league table.
Tell us about your project and get a fixed, no-obligation quote back within one working day. If you don't need planning permission at all, we'll tell you that too — for free.
There are two ways to get building control approval, and for anything structural in Greenwich we recommend the full-plans route — particularly on the borough's georgian and early-victorian terraces and victorian and edwardian villas, where opening up an old structure tends to reveal surprises. A building notice lets work start with no approved drawings — cheaper up front, but the surveyor rules on compliance as the build proceeds, so a wrong detail is discovered mid-work and rebuilt at your cost. Full plans get the whole set checked and approved before a brick moves, which is what banks, warranty providers and future buyers want to see.
Full plans also protect the project commercially. With approved construction drawings your builder prices exact quantities rather than guessing, and there is a completion certificate at the end — the document a solicitor asks for when you sell across Greenwich, Blackheath and Westcombe Park and the rest of Greenwich. Where a project sits in a controlled setting — the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site and its buffer zone add height and setting tests near the town centre — the construction details also have to respect what planning has conditioned, and we draw the full set and manage the building control submission to reconcile both.
Every structural project needs building regulations drawings whatever the planning position. A few of the Greenwich neighbourhoods and property types where we prepare them most often:
Building regulations drawings for Greenwich's Georgian and early-Victorian terraces inside the West Greenwich conservation area — structure, fire and Part L detailed for building control sign-off.
Building regulations drawings for Blackheath's villas and terraces around the Cator Estate and Blackheath Park — structure, fire and Part L detailed for building control sign-off.
Building regulations drawings for Westcombe Park's Edwardian and Victorian villas climbing the hill above the river — structure, fire and Part L detailed for building control sign-off.
Building regulations drawings for Charlton's the older cottages and interwar streets around Charlton Village — structure, fire and Part L detailed for building control sign-off.
Building regulations drawings for Eltham's interwar semis including the Well Hall Progress Estate — structure, fire and Part L detailed for building control sign-off.
Building regulations drawings for Woolwich's denser Victorian terraces amid riverside regeneration — structure, fire and Part L detailed for building control sign-off.
They are different approvals and most projects need both. This is how they split in Greenwich.
| Planning permission | Building regulations | |
|---|---|---|
| Question it answers | Should this be built here? | Is it built safely and efficiently? |
| Decided by | the Royal Borough of Greenwich planning | Building control body or approved inspector |
| Main drawings | Location, block, proposed plans & elevations | Structural, fire, thermal & construction details |
| Needed for permitted development? | No — a certificate is optional | Yes — always, before work starts |
In conservation areas such as West Greenwich and Blackheath Park, a planning condition can dictate materials that the building regulations details must then also satisfy.
A fixed process built around how Greenwich projects are approved and inspected — most construction sets are ready within seven days of survey.
Send us your Greenwich postcode and scheme. We confirm whether you also need planning, which parts of the regulations apply, and whether the Royal Borough of Greenwich building control or an approved inspector suits the job.
We measure the existing structure so the construction details, spans and junctions are drawn to the real building rather than an assumption — the base sound structural calculations depend on.
Chartered designers and engineers produce the full-plans set — structure, fire, Part L thermal, drainage and details — with the structural calculations that support every beam and foundation.
We submit the full-plans application to your building control body, resolve any queries before work starts, and revise the drawings free until the set is approved and the work signed off.
They are two separate approvals. Planning permission, decided by the Royal Borough of Greenwich, answers whether a scheme should be built at all — its size, look and impact on neighbours. Building regulations, checked by a building control body, answer whether it is built safely and efficiently — structure, fire, insulation and drainage. A Greenwich project usually needs both, and even permitted-development work that skips planning still needs building control sign-off.
Yes — planning permission is not building control approval. The planning drawings show what the building looks like; building regulations drawings show how it is constructed, and no structural work in Greenwich can lawfully complete without a building control sign-off. The two sets are drawn together but approved by different bodies, so having one never removes the need for the other. the Royal Borough of Greenwich is the decision-maker.
For anything structural in Greenwich — a loft, an extension or removing a wall — we recommend full plans. The whole construction set is checked and approved before work starts, so a non-compliant detail is caught on paper rather than rebuilt on site. On the borough's georgian and early-victorian terraces that certainty matters, and a building notice — which lets a surveyor judge compliance as work proceeds — risks costly rework. Banks and warranty providers also prefer the approved full-plans set that the Royal Borough of Greenwich or an approved inspector signs off.
Yes. You can use the Royal Borough of Greenwich's building control team or an independent approved inspector — both enforce the same regulations, so it comes down to price, availability and continuity. We draw the full-plans set to the same standard either way and submit it to whichever body you choose, then manage the queries and inspections through to the completion certificate.
Solid-walled period houses — common across Greenwich, including conservation areas such as West Greenwich and Blackheath Park — are the hardest to bring up to Part L without losing room or altering the fabric. We detail the insulation to hit the required U-values with the least intrusion, using internal or roof-level build-ups and, where a planning condition protects the exterior, methods that satisfy both the energy standard and the heritage requirement at once. the Royal Borough of Greenwich is the decision-maker.
We price each Greenwich job individually, because the structural content and the size of the construction set vary from a single beam to a whole-house refurbishment, and send a fixed, no-obligation quote within one working day. It covers the full-plans drawings and structural calculations with free revisions until sign-off. The building control body's own fee is separate. Call 020 7864 7245 to start. the Royal Borough of Greenwich is the decision-maker.
Answer five quick questions and get a free planning score for your exact address — instantly. Then, if you want the full picture, unlock the detailed analysis: your council's live approval rates, local precedents, constraints on your street and a step-by-step route to permission.
Same fixed quotes, same fast drawings — wherever your project is.