Rear dormer drawings for Bearsted & Downswood roofs — the box across the back slope that turns a low attic into a full-height room, drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance and the volume limits, delivered in days and revised free until your decision, with a free approval-odds check first.
Maidstone Borough Council granted 91% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 4 points above the 87% England-wide householder average. Bearsted & Downswood contains Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension conservation areas (Bearsted Extension designated 2000), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal, which is where a policy-literate drawing pack earns its keep. Its dominant interwar (1918–1939) and postwar (1945–1970) housing stock sets the design brief on most streets.
Before permission is required, Class B allows 40m³ of added loft volume on a terrace and 50m³ on a semi or detached house, and Class A allows a 3m single-storey rear extension on a terrace or 4m on a detached house. Bearsted & Downswood carries at least one Article 4 direction, and conservation areas including Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension and Bearsted Extension remove those rights outright, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Bearsted & Downswood is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2000), Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2025), Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2025), Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2025), Bearsted, Holy Cross Church (conservation area designated in 1992), Bearsted, Village Green (conservation area designated in 1974), Bearsted (civil parish within Bearsted & Downswood) and Downswood (civil parish within Bearsted & Downswood) — these are the Bearsted & Downswood pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted, Holy Cross Church and Bearsted, Village Green. Maidstone Borough Council weighs each proposal against the adopted Maidstone local plan and Maidstone Borough Council's design guidance for householder work, where the 4,190 homes here are 35% 1965-1972, 17% 1983-1992, 10% 1930-1939, which is what sets the realistic roof and rear-projection options. On roofs the borough is shallow-pitched roofs and integral garages typical of that period's building and trussed-rafter roofs typical of 1980s building, over late-1960s and early-1970s houses (35% of 4,190 homes), 1980s estate houses (17%) and 1930s semi-detached and detached houses (10%).
What is permitted in Bearsted & Downswood turns on designation first, so that is where we start: Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2000), Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2025), Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2025), Bearsted Extension (conservation area designated in 2025), Bearsted, Holy Cross Church (conservation area designated in 1992) and Bearsted, Village Green (conservation area designated in 1974). Inside those boundaries permitted development is curtailed and Maidstone 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, Bearsted & Downswood takes in Bearsted and Downswood. Maidstone Borough Council has 84 recorded Article 4 directions — check the address before assuming PD applies in Bearsted & Downswood.
On stock, Bearsted & Downswood is late-1960s and early-1970s houses (35% of 4,190 homes), 1980s estate houses (17%) and 1930s semi-detached and detached houses (10%) — which is why shallow-pitched roofs and integral garages typical of that period's building and trussed-rafter roofs typical of 1980s building govern what a loft or rear projection can realistically be. Maidstone Borough Council decided 536 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 91%, with 81% issued inside the eight-week target. We draw to that record rather than to a national average.
The full build-period split for Bearsted & Downswood runs pre-1900 5% (230 homes), 1900-1918 1% (30 homes), 1919-1929 4% (180 homes), 1930-1939 10% (410 homes), 1945-1954 5% (210 homes), 1955-1964 6% (270 homes), 1965-1972 35% (1,480 homes), 1973-1982 5% (230 homes), 1983-1992 17% (710 homes), 1993-1999 3% (140 homes) and 2000-2008 4% (160 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.
Maidstone Borough Council also decides for Barming Heath & Teston, Boxley Downs, Coxheath & Farleigh, High Street, Leeds & Langley, Loose & Linton, Marden & Yalding and Staplehurst, so a decision in Bearsted & Downswood 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.
The Article 4 directions recorded for this council include 29 Albion Place, 62 Earl Street, 66 Earl Street and 70-72 King Street,. Each removes a specific permitted-development right inside its own boundary, which is why the check is done on the address rather than on the town.
Published figures for Bearsted & Downswood and Maidstone 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 | Bearsted & Downswood |
|---|---|
| Dwellings recorded | 4,190 |
| Built pre-1900 | 230 (5%) |
| Built 1900-1918 | 30 (1%) |
| Built 1919-1929 | 180 (4%) |
| Built 1930-1939 | 410 (10%) |
| Built 1945-1954 | 210 (5%) |
| Built 1955-1964 | 270 (6%) |
| Built 1965-1972 | 1,480 (35%) |
| Built 1973-1982 | 230 (5%) |
| Built 1983-1992 | 710 (17%) |
| Built 1993-1999 | 140 (3%) |
| Built 2000-2008 | 160 (4%) |
| Built before 1919 | 6% |
| Built 1919–1939 | 14% |
| Built 1945–2008 | 76% |
| Conservation areas in Bearsted & Downswood | 6 (Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension…) |
| Conservation areas district-wide | 53 |
| Article 4 directions recorded | 84 |
| Householder applications decided | 536 |
| Householder applications granted | 91% |
| Decided within 8 weeks | 81% |
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 Maidstone Borough Council's own, from MHCLG live table PS2 for the year to 31 March 2026.
The box dormer is the workhorse loft, and most of Bearsted & Downswood is built for it — the borough runs to late-1960s and early-1970s houses (35% of 4,190 homes), 1980s estate houses (17%) and 1930s semi-detached and detached houses (10%) under shallow-pitched roofs and integral garages typical of that period's building and trussed-rafter roofs typical of 1980s building, and a flat-roofed box across the rear slope is the cheapest cubic metre of full-height space those roofs give up. Maidstone Borough Council tests the dormer against the adopted Maidstone local plan and Maidstone Borough Council's design guidance for householder work, and because permitted development turns on a number, the volume you propose against the volume you have left is the first thing an officer or a certificate checks.
That is why the arithmetic goes on the drawings. We calculate the box against the 40- or 50-cubic-metre allowance, count any earlier roof enlargement into the total, hold the flat roof below the ridge and set the face back off the eaves so the dormer reads as subordinate. Bearsted & Downswood contains Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension conservation areas (Bearsted Extension designated 2000), so materials, fenestration and roof form are assessed against the appraisal, so the cheeks, the window line and the material are drawn to answer it rather than invite a query.
Where Bearsted & Downswood's streets are protected — Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension, Bearsted, Holy Cross Church and Bearsted, Village Green among them — the Class B dormer right is switched off and even a modest rear box needs consent. Maidstone Borough Council has 84 recorded Article 4 directions — check the address before assuming PD applies in Bearsted & Downswood. We confirm the designation before the box is sized.
Many rear dormers in Bearsted & Downswood are permitted development, but the volume and position decide it. You will normally need a full application to Maidstone Borough Council if any of these apply:
We draw the box within its volume allowance, the flat roof below the ridge and the face set back off the eaves — the three things a dormer stands or falls on — and submit a validation-complete pack, whether that is a lawful development certificate or a full householder application.
Below is Maidstone Borough Council's real householder decision record, drawn from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. Maidstone Borough Council granted 91% of its householder applications in the year to 31 March 2026, and Bearsted Extension shapes what is approved here. A dormer is decided on volume and set-back, so a pack that shows the calculation and the eaves detail is cleared faster and refused less often than a DIY submission.
Source: MHCLG planning application statistics (householder decisions, England, 1 April 2025 - 31 March 2026). 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.
Across Bearsted Extension, Bearsted Extension and Bearsted Extension, the dormer that goes through is the subordinate rear box: flat roof kept low, cheeks clad to recede, side windows obscure-glazed against overlooking, and the whole thing set back so the original eaves line still reads from the garden. On shallow-pitched roofs and integral garages typical of that period's building, this returns a full-height double and en-suite from what was standing-room-only, usually inside the permitted-development volume.
The 4,190 homes here are 35% 1965-1972, 17% 1983-1992, 10% 1930-1939, which is what sets the realistic roof and rear-projection options. We keep the box off the ridge, match the cheek material to the roof, and where the volume is already spent — or the street is designated — draw the dormer as a householder application composed to Maidstone Borough Council's roof-alteration guidance rather than push a certificate that would be refused.
We draw rear dormers on the terraced and semi-detached streets across the borough. A few of the neighbourhoods where Bearsted & Downswood dormers come up most often:
Dormer loft drawings for Bearsted Extension's conservation area designated in 2000 — volume-checked, set-back-detailed and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Dormer loft drawings for Bearsted Extension's conservation area designated in 2025 — volume-checked, set-back-detailed and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Dormer loft drawings for Bearsted Extension's conservation area designated in 2025 — volume-checked, set-back-detailed and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Dormer loft drawings for Bearsted Extension's conservation area designated in 2025 — volume-checked, set-back-detailed and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Dormer loft drawings for Bearsted, Holy Cross Church's conservation area designated in 1992 — volume-checked, set-back-detailed and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Dormer loft drawings for Bearsted, Village Green's conservation area designated in 1974 — volume-checked, set-back-detailed and drawn to Maidstone Borough Council's guidance.
Whether a dormer in Bearsted & Downswood needs permission comes down to where it sits and how big the box is. This is how the cases compare.
| Dormer type | Permitted development? | What it gains | What Maidstone Borough Council checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rear box, within volume | Usually yes | Full-height room across the back | Volume total, 20cm eaves set-back |
| Rear box, over volume limit | No — full application | A larger room | How far over the allowance, bulk |
| Front or side dormer | No — full application | Light to the front rooms | Visibility from the street, character |
| Dormer in a conservation area | No — full application | Same space, extra scrutiny | Roof form and street appearance |
In conservation areas such as Bearsted Extension and Bearsted Extension, Class B dormer rights are removed and every dormer needs a full application.
A fixed process built around how Maidstone Borough Council validates and decides dormer applications — most drawings are submission-ready within seven days of survey.
Send us your Bearsted & Downswood postcode and roof type. We confirm your conservation and Article 4 status, work out how much permitted-development volume you have left, and score your odds against live Maidstone Borough Council decisions.
We measure ridge and eaves heights, roof pitch and the existing loft floor — the numbers the volume calculation, the set-back and the head heights depend on.
Chartered designers develop the box to your brief, drawn inside the Class B volume limits or, where those are exhausted or removed, to Maidstone Borough Council's roof-alteration guidance.
We submit the certificate or application, manage validation and case-officer queries, and revise the drawings free until Maidstone Borough Council issues its decision.
Often not. A rear box dormer within 40 cubic metres on a terrace, or 50 on a semi or detached house, set back at least 20 centimetres from the eaves and kept below the ridge, is usually permitted development. In Bearsted & Downswood you will need a full application to Maidstone Borough Council for a front or side dormer, a box that exceeds the volume, and any dormer in a conservation area such as Bearsted Extension and Bearsted Extension, where those rights are removed.
The permitted-development limit is a volume, not a footprint: 40 cubic metres of added roof space on a terraced house and 50 on a semi-detached or detached one, and any earlier loft enlargement counts against that total. In Bearsted & Downswood the box must also sit below the ridge and back from the eaves. We measure your roof and calculate the exact volume you have left before drawing. Maidstone Borough Council is the decision-maker.
Not under permitted development. A dormer on the front roof slope, or one facing a highway, always needs a full application to Maidstone Borough Council, because it changes how the house reads from the street. Rear box dormers are far more likely to be approved — or to be permitted development outright — which is why almost every Bearsted & Downswood dormer we draw sits on the back slope.
Often, on a terrace or semi. If the dormer or the loft steelwork meets the party wall with your neighbour, the Party Wall etc. Act applies and notice must be served before work starts — separately from Maidstone Borough Council's planning decision. We flag the party-wall junction on the drawings so a surveyor can be appointed early and the build is not held up. This applies to your Bearsted & Downswood address specifically.
If your dormer is permitted development, a lawful development certificate from Maidstone Borough Council is council-stamped proof of it — worth holding, because a buyer's solicitor will ask for it when you sell. We prepare and submit the certificate with the same measured drawing pack that shows the box within its volume allowance. This applies to your Bearsted & Downswood address specifically.
We price each Bearsted & Downswood dormer individually, because the roof pitch and the volume left vary house to house, and send a fixed, no-obligation quote within one working day. It covers the full drawing pack with free revisions until Maidstone Borough Council approves, and we confirm at the outset whether your box is permitted development or needs an application. Call 020 7864 7245 to start.
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