Rear dormer drawings for Fernhurst roofs — the box across the back slope that turns a low attic into a full-height room, drawn to Chichester District Council's guidance and the volume limits, delivered in days and revised free until your decision, with a free approval-odds check first.
Chichester District Council granted 95% of the householder planning decisions it made in its latest published year — 8 points above the 87% England-wide householder average. Fernhurst contains the Camelsdale and Hammer conservation area (Camelsdale and Hammer designated 1984), 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), 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. In conservation areas such as Camelsdale and Hammer those rights are removed, so we confirm your exact address before a line is drawn. A validated householder application in Fernhurst is determined against an 8-week statutory target.
Camelsdale and Hammer (conservation area designated in 1984), Linch (civil parish within Fernhurst), Lurgashall (civil parish within Fernhurst), Milland (civil parish within Fernhurst) and Linchmere (civil parish within Fernhurst) — these are the Fernhurst pockets our drawings cover most. Heritage designations here include Camelsdale and Hammer. Chichester District Council weighs each proposal against Chichester District Council's development plan and the design policies it applies to householder applications, where the 2,740 homes here are 19% pre-1900, 11% 1955-1964, 11% 1930-1939, which is what sets the realistic roof and rear-projection options. On roofs the borough is steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building and shallow gabled roofs typical of that period's building, over Victorian and earlier houses (19% of 2,740 homes), late-1950s and early-1960s houses (11%) and 1930s semi-detached and detached houses (11%).
What is permitted in Fernhurst turns on designation first, so that is where we start: Camelsdale and Hammer (conservation area designated in 1984). Inside those boundaries permitted development is curtailed and Chichester District 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, Fernhurst takes in Linch, Lurgashall, Milland and Linchmere. No Article 4 direction is recorded for Chichester District Council, but Fernhurst's 1 conservation area still limit permitted development on those streets.
On stock, Fernhurst is Victorian and earlier houses (19% of 2,740 homes), late-1950s and early-1960s houses (11%) and 1930s semi-detached and detached houses (11%) — which is why steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building and shallow gabled roofs typical of that period's building govern what a loft or rear projection can realistically be. Chichester District Council decided 470 householder applications in the latest published year and granted 95%, with 93% issued inside the eight-week target. We draw to that record rather than to a national average.
The full build-period split for Fernhurst runs pre-1900 19% (510 homes), 1900-1918 9% (240 homes), 1919-1929 3% (80 homes), 1930-1939 11% (300 homes), 1945-1954 6% (160 homes), 1955-1964 11% (310 homes), 1965-1972 9% (260 homes), 1973-1982 4% (120 homes), 1983-1992 8% (210 homes), 1993-1999 6% (160 homes) and 2000-2008 9% (240 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.
Chichester District Council also decides for Chichester North, Goodwood, Harbour Villages, Loxwood, Southbourne, The Witterings and Westbourne, so a decision in Fernhurst 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 Fernhurst and Chichester District Council. These are the numbers that decide what is realistic on your street, so we work from them rather than from national averages.
| Measure | Fernhurst |
|---|---|
| Dwellings recorded | 2,740 |
| Built pre-1900 | 510 (19%) |
| Built 1900-1918 | 240 (9%) |
| Built 1919-1929 | 80 (3%) |
| Built 1930-1939 | 300 (11%) |
| Built 1945-1954 | 160 (6%) |
| Built 1955-1964 | 310 (11%) |
| Built 1965-1972 | 260 (9%) |
| Built 1973-1982 | 120 (4%) |
| Built 1983-1992 | 210 (8%) |
| Built 1993-1999 | 160 (6%) |
| Built 2000-2008 | 240 (9%) |
| Built before 1919 | 27% |
| Built 1919–1939 | 14% |
| Built 1945–2008 | 53% |
| Conservation areas in Fernhurst | 1 (Camelsdale and Hammer) |
| Conservation areas district-wide | 23 |
| Article 4 directions recorded | 0 |
| Householder applications decided | 470 |
| Householder applications granted | 95% |
| Decided within 8 weeks | 93% |
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 Chichester District 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 Fernhurst is built for it — the borough runs to Victorian and earlier houses (19% of 2,740 homes), late-1950s and early-1960s houses (11%) and 1930s semi-detached and detached houses (11%) under steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building and shallow gabled roofs typical of that period's building, and a flat-roofed box across the rear slope is the cheapest cubic metre of full-height space those roofs give up. Chichester District Council tests the dormer against Chichester District Council's development plan and the design policies it applies to householder applications, 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. Fernhurst contains the Camelsdale and Hammer conservation area (Camelsdale and Hammer designated 1984), 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 Fernhurst's streets are protected — Camelsdale and Hammer among them — the Class B dormer right is switched off and even a modest rear box needs consent. No Article 4 direction is recorded for Chichester District Council, but Fernhurst's 1 conservation area still limit permitted development on those streets. We confirm the designation before the box is sized.
Many rear dormers in Fernhurst are permitted development, but the volume and position decide it. You will normally need a full application to Chichester District 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 Chichester District Council's real householder decision record, drawn from official planning statistics and refreshed as new data lands. Chichester District Council granted 95% of its householder applications in the year to 31 March 2026, and Camelsdale and Hammer 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.
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Across Camelsdale and Hammer, Linch and Lurgashall, 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 steeply pitched slate roofs, valley gutters and party parapets typical of pre-1900 building, this returns a full-height double and en-suite from what was standing-room-only, usually inside the permitted-development volume.
The 2,740 homes here are 19% pre-1900, 11% 1955-1964, 11% 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 Chichester District 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 Fernhurst dormers come up most often:
Dormer loft drawings for Camelsdale and Hammer's conservation area designated in 1984 — volume-checked, set-back-detailed and drawn to Chichester District Council's guidance.
Dormer loft drawings for Linch's civil parish within Fernhurst — volume-checked, set-back-detailed and drawn to Chichester District Council's guidance.
Dormer loft drawings for Lurgashall's civil parish within Fernhurst — volume-checked, set-back-detailed and drawn to Chichester District Council's guidance.
Dormer loft drawings for Milland's civil parish within Fernhurst — volume-checked, set-back-detailed and drawn to Chichester District Council's guidance.
Dormer loft drawings for Linchmere's civil parish within Fernhurst — volume-checked, set-back-detailed and drawn to Chichester District Council's guidance.
Whether a dormer in Fernhurst 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 Chichester District 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 Camelsdale and Hammer, Class B dormer rights are removed and every dormer needs a full application.
A fixed process built around how Chichester District Council validates and decides dormer applications — most drawings are submission-ready within seven days of survey.
Send us your Fernhurst 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 Chichester District 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 Chichester District Council's roof-alteration guidance.
We submit the certificate or application, manage validation and case-officer queries, and revise the drawings free until Chichester District 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 Fernhurst you will need a full application to Chichester District Council for a front or side dormer, a box that exceeds the volume, and any dormer in a conservation area such as Camelsdale and Hammer, 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 Fernhurst 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. Chichester District 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 Chichester District 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 Fernhurst 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 Chichester District 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 Fernhurst address specifically.
If your dormer is permitted development, a lawful development certificate from Chichester District 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 Fernhurst address specifically.
We price each Fernhurst 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 Chichester District 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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